Shadow and Wind: New legends
by Sir-Shun
Summary: AU. Naruto and Shikamaru's lives take an unexpected turn. Follow the eccentric hero and the lazy genius on their journey to to make a name of themselves. Chapter 45: Tsunade is saved and Orochimaru has lost! Time to go home, right?
1. The Stage is Set

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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_Summary: AU fanfic. In a sudden twist of events, Naruto must flee his beloved Konoha for fear of his safety. But he's not alone, as he finds an unlikely partner in the super genius with an I.Q. above 200, Shikamaru. Follow the ultimate team of brain and brawn on their path to surpass legends._

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'  
Also a bit of warning: Many reviewers have told me that my writing contains errors. There are many reasons to that (but mainly, English isn't my first language), and I apologize in advance. All that I can ask is for you to bear with them, and if you want, kindly point them out. Thank you.

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**1. Preparation: The stage is set**

**_This is it, in the end there's always a new beginning. A new adventure has started._**

Brilliant.

That's how one would define the epic battle Naruto had won against Gaara and the Shukaku. Many had failed, and even two rounds of Sasuke's new jutsu, the Chidori, weren't enough; but somehow, the dead last had managed to do it. Of course using Kakashi's "One thousand years of pain" with an explosive kunai was kind of inappropriate. There was also the fact that he miserably failed to summon Gamabunta on his first try. And being bossed around by your summon is kind of pathetic…

Ok. Well, maybe that battle wasn't as _brilliant_ as one would think. For a Genin, it was a fight against impossible odds, and Naruto had prevailed magnificently… in a way. Of course, in the end it was a team effort: Naruto would have never had a chance against the tanuki demon if it wasn't for Sasuke weakening Gaara or Sakura's bravery giving him the fire needed to fight back. And after that intense battle they all needed some well deserved rest… in intensive care.

Getting through that experience alive was as difficult as actually defeating Gaara, and so Team Seven had been rushed to a nearby hospital soon after. Sasuke had needed some of his wounds treated, but the most important matter was the curse seal acting up; Sakura had been the most injured, fortunately she would be permitted to leave the Hospital the next day; Naruto had fought with all his might, way past exhaustion, and only needed to rest; and that's about all he did two days straight. It seemed both Sakura and Sasuke wanted to do the same, but they were constantly interrupted by visits.

Though they were good-natured, the visitors had the knack of picking the wrong time to intrude. For example, Ino systematically visited Sasuke every two hours, from the start of visiting hours to the end, sometimes accompanied by her teammates, other times with some fellow fans of the Uchiha survivor, but most of the time alone. This had the effect of preventing Sasuke from getting the rest he required. When she had finished in the Uchiha's room, she would go and see her friend and rival, bedridden only a few doors down the hall. But she wasn't alone in her visits: Rock Lee popped in with his crutches from time to time, vowing his eternal love and speaking of the miracle recovery he would soon have thanks to the marvelous wonders of the "Springtime of Youth". Of course there was Kakashi, who'd go from one room to another… that is, when he wasn't sent on an urgent A class mission. They even had a team visit from team 8 at one point. Although it was short, it reflected the camaraderie of the Konoha Genin.

Though those visits were somewhat unpleasant, Sakura had welcomed them; she needed some company, and hungered for any bits of news she could get on Sasuke's condition. Even Rock Lee had to at least pass a few minutes with her teammate to be graced with permission to enter the kunoichi's room. Each of her visitors had to spend time describing Sasuke's condition and reassure her of his well being before even thinking of asking about hers. She had been so worried about her beloved that she forgot ever having a third team member while she was hospitalized.

Sasuke, however, did remember Naruto. And was troubled by the fact that during his time spent recovering, two people had secretly asked him about Naruto's whereabouts: Shikamaru had quietly raised the question while Ino was mindlessly rambling, informing him that while his room and Sakura's were only a short distance apart, Naruto's wasn't even on the same floor. As for Hinata, though she didn't seem to insist, her worried eyes told her story. Even the nurses he asked didn't know where the blond was. It seemed Naruto had been awarded some sort of special treatment. Unfortunately for Naruto and himself, Sasuke drew the wrong conclusions from those facts: He thought that since the blond had played such an essential part in the Gaara affair, he had been hailed as a hero and was being treated as such. And since an Uchiha can _never_ be wrong, this only served to make his mood that much more bitter.

The poor fox brat would have gladly argued with him about his condition, only he wasn't even awake to realize what was happening to him. While Sakura, Sasuke and the rest of the injured Konoha shinobi were treated with much care, Naruto had been practically left for dead in the quarantine section of the building. Nobody even entered his room to see if he was alive, save for Kakashi who, using henge to move around as a doctor in the scarce time he could visit team 7, would check to see how his recovery was coming along.

He had no complaints; thanks to the demon fox, the blond had mostly recovered from his more serious wounds after a day spent resting. It amazed him that with so little treatment, Naruto would likely already be out trying to train in some way or another. Every time he thought about it, he would sigh. He wished that somehow Jiraiya had stayed in town during this whole mess; things would have been so different. But he'd quickly shrug his mood away: besides the Third, there were no major casualties. And seeing how the new recruits had behaved, he was sure that the will of fire had been passed on and that a bright future was ahead of them.

On the second day, Sakura and Sasuke were released from the hospital. Both were glad to leave: the pink head could finally see Sasuke and thank him for saving her life. As for Sasuke, he decided that he'd have a little talk with Naruto about the recent events. But they were quickly summoned to get changed in order to attend the funeral service of the Third. Both hurried to their respective homes, knowing that they would soon find the person they were looking for at the gravesite. In fact, they'd be surprised if even one person wasn't at the funeral service. Naruto himself wouldn't even dream of missing this service, not only to support his so-called pupil, but also because he had a great respect for the Third, since he was the second person to ever acknowledge him. He would be rushing there if it wasn't for the fact that he was currently sleeping in his hospital room, having no idea what was happening outside. It seemed he was bound to miss the funeral.

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While thinking about the fight between team seven versus Gaara, people seemed to forget about one major asset that aided them in their victory. If not for this person, the fox host and his teammate wouldn't have had time to save Sasuke, because they would have to deal with intensive interference. Most would think of Shino, but all had recognized his abilities when he faced Kankuro of the sand siblings. Though his performance hadn't been flawless, it was enough to ensure the puppet master couldn't fight anymore; and it had caused Shino much unwanted attention from admirers and other ninjas. Yet Naruto and Sakura wouldn't have probably reached the infamous Genin himself if they had to fight their way through the Sound Chunin in the way.

The one responsible for that part of the job was currently walking home. If possible, his usual scowl had gotten uglier. At this moment, he found his current situation more than troublesome. It was justified when he reviewed his "heroic" actions that day: He technically lost to a woman – though to everybody else, _including_ said woman, his win was undeniable; he had somehow used a genjustu counter when he could have easily taken a peaceful, albeit forced nap; he had to accompany Naruto, Sakura and a dog that kept on biting him – he still didn't understand that "soft and bouncy" rubbish; he had played the good guy and used a mass shadow bind technique to stall some Chunin that were after them; then he finally got saved from those same shinobi by his leader, Asuma.

These were no ordinary feats, especially for a lazy guy like him, yet Shikamaru found all his accomplishments pathetic. Team seven had easily done more than he did. Sasuke acted like the genius he had always been, shocking everyone with his new-found speed and jutsu. Naruto, the dead last he had classed as hopeless idiot since the academy days had far outclassed his expectations. Even Shino outshined him that day for he had done just has much, if not more, than the Nara. But even if these people and their actions had put his own to shame, that wasn't what really made him bitter right now. In fact he couldn't have cared less what happened these last days, save the death of the honorable Third. What irked him above all else was the relation between those events and the meeting he just left.

Earlier that day, Shikamaru had been rudely woken up by his father. This was one heck of a surprise, considering his father's laziness was even more renowned than his own. The Nara heir inquired about this particular event, and received a scroll as his answer. Said scroll was a call to a special meeting discussing his recent actions in the Chunin exam. Judging by his father's stern look, this wasn't something he could easily dismiss, which was troublesome. Of course, to make the matters worse, this meeting was to be held shortly before the funeral, in about three hours, barely leaving the Genin time to get ready. He also asked his dad about the nature of the meeting, but his father pretended he didn't hear him while mumbling something about how kids growing too fast were troublesome.

The atmosphere at the house had gotten that much eerier when breakfast came. It was a calm quiet breakfast with no interruptions whatsoever. That itself meant something was up: The young Nara couldn't even remember a breakfast without his mother shouting over some poorly done chore, or his father's lateness, or the fact that the herd was acting crazy. This was usually followed by one of his father's sarcastic remarks, and before he knew it, he'd be running for his dear life, but not before his beloved mom had somehow forked over his share of daily tasks. So Shikamaru had every reason to be suspicious about his parents. "What's up?" he asked, but there was no satisfying answer. Instead, his mother couldn't stop smiling, giving him compliments here and there and talking about how he'd grown up. Now, there was definitely a reason to freak out. The sooner that meeting came, the better.

And so the time of the meeting arrived. Shikamaru was now standing in a room he never dreamed existed inside of the Hokage tower. The room was large, and circular with as many seats as there were people around him at the moment; a lot. The seat in facing him was different from all the others. It was also empty, and the Nara easily figured out why. Around him were thirty or so elderly people. Here and there were also masked shinobi he could guess were from the Anbu. _So many people for just one meeting, something is definitely up_. So far his conclusion was that this was the Konoha council, made of the heads of most of the clans. There were also many high politicians operating within the village, as well as ambassadors, and most of the village's S-ranked shinobi. Shikamaru quickly looked around and easily found what he was looking for, his father. Simple eye contact convinced him that his father was against this meeting for some reason. He soon understood why.

"Members of the council, we are now gathered to discuss the promotion of the Genin Nara Shikamaru."

_What! What did they just say? _Shikamaru looked at his father for confirmation. Shikaku simply looked away disapprovingly. The man, who seemed to be the leader of the board, continued.

"Considering the requirements of a Chunin, tactical skills, fast analysis and optimization of any situation, we consider this boy to be ready for the tasks at hand."

"Hey, wait! Don't I have any say in this?"

"Of course, as suggested, we should have waited for the next Hokage," said the man without even acknowledging Shikamaru's presence. "This particular course of action, however, is triggered by the critical lack of available Chunin at the moment."

"Oi! Don't ignore me!"

But Shikamaru quickly calmed down. Using force or rudeness was out of the question considering he'd be dead a dozen of times before even realizing what was happening.

"Let us hear the remarks of the members."

"He seems kind of young." This was said by one of the elderly which was seated not far from meeting's president."

_Thank you!_ Shouted Shikamaru in his mind

"We had younger Chunin in time of war," said another behind him, "and he has shown the potential to surpass many of them."

"His analytical skills were perfect. He also has a sense of responsibility."

"But I lost the fight – Against a troublesome _woman_!"

"Considering the resources he had, choosing to give up was the best solution in the eyes of many. Coming back from every mission half dead, like most of the fighters that day, would not be profitable."

Shikamaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. People actually praised the fact that he deliberately chose to lose to the woman. Wasn't this supposed to be a test to gauge one's ability? Weren't the ninja of the upper level supposed to be cool and tackle any situation, like Kakashi or Asuma? Sasuke would be the best choice to promote to Chunin. He was a genius like himself, and actually had the skills to match his ego. Shino would have been another excellent choice as well, and unlike the Uchiha, he had more brain than brawn. Of course when he voiced his opinions, they were shunned like the rest.

"Now, I suppose the father has something to say, since it is his son we are talking about."

Shikamaru was all eyes on the man in question, hoping that his father's reluctance wasn't just a figment of his mind.

"Like I have said before, I don't think it's wise to let Nara Shikamaru become a Chunin… yet. Though the need for Chunin is increasing due to the threat of a war, I think this matter can wait until the Fifth Hokage has been found. It will also give him time to consider the importance of this event. Even if he was appointed Chunin as of now, all the teams available are complete and any new made team would be mostly made of Genin, which would render it ineffective."

Shikamaru couldn't have been more grateful than in this moment. His father's reasoning was spot on. There was no way they'd let him be a Chunin after that. At least, it seemed so until the council president spoke once again.

"As usual, Shikaku-san has quite the insight; however, this matter is much more urgent than you might think. Also, it is quite rare to have a Chunin selection exam without at least having one promotion. May I add that many have been promoted during war and most of those at a younger age than him? Surely you're only overreacting; I totally understand your concerns for the candidate. Don't worry; I assure you that like all of the other shinobi, Konoha will _take care_ of him."

The guy had basically shot down in flames any hope the young Nara had of getting out of the room still a Genin. Since he had nothing better to do, he decided to take a closer look at the person so interested in his promotion. The man looked young, for one of the elders. Gauging by the wrinkles under his eyes and around his cheeks, the boy could give him 45, at most 50 years. The strands of silver streaking through his raven hair only confirmed his theory. His hair was long and tied behind his back in an elegant manner not unlike the Hyuuga's. He had a warm smile that could easily throw one off when trying to determine his character, but his eyes didn't lie; they were hazel colored, cold and calculating. They had nothing to do with his seemingly kind exterior. As Shikamaru burned the man's face in his memory, he felt something was odd in the way he worded that last sentence. Whatever it was would have to wait, because after that little answer, everybody started to praise him again.

"Really, a prodigy…"

"Sasuke is a better prodigy than I'll ever be."

"His skills are needed as a Chunin."

"Wait, Shino has more versatile skills than I have."

"He'll become a valuable asset."

"What about Neji! Come on! At least promote _one_ of these guys with me!"

"Then it's settled."

"Even Naruto would be a good candidate."

At this mention, the whole room froze. It didn't take a genius to understand that the name wasn't welcomed here. He couldn't put his finger on the reason though: Naruto was too young to cause them any kind of grief. Besides, he was an orphan, so he posed no political threat of any kind. He supposed it may have had to do with his parents... Whatever it was, the tension finally became more bearable after a few seconds. The leader of the meeting made his voice heard once again:

"Before the vote, I think it would be wise to hear from one last person."

Shikamaru was only half surprised when the leader of his team appeared out of nowhere. Asuma still looked as cool as ever. But his usual mood was quite somber today. He figured it was because of the funeral. He'd have to ask him about it, if he remembered. But now wasn't the time: he was sure he would have to hear his input on the situation. Indeed, who would be better suited to give an idea of Shikamaru's state than his mentor and leader?

"He has the skills, but I personally think he is not ready yet."

It seemed that only the cool and smart people agreed with the lazy Genin.

"Thank you. Remember to consider all that has been said before voting. Now, all that are in favor of promoting Nara Shikamaru to the rank of Chunin may so declare by raising their right hand."

Of course, a short moment later Shikamaru was welcomed to the upper ranks of the Konoha shinobi. He was bitter, but he had found a way to relieve some of that resentment.

"The honor I receive today is great, but may I ask the council one more favor?" Shikamaru took the lack of response as permission and continued. "I'd like to know where Naruto is, if I may."

There was a second silence, quickly destroyed by bursts of murmurs, which were in turn halted just as quickly by the president's cough. Though he simply inquired about the reason for the request, the look he gave the boy clearly meant he had gone too far and should drop the silly question. But the now newly promoted Chunin also thought they had pushed too far in trying to promote him, and that he should at least some kind of benefit from it.

He voiced his concern for his teammate: since they had shared the same mission two days earlier, and since he was now appointed Chunin, he was by default the leader. This meant that he had to write up a report, which would be more than incomplete if the one responsible for Gaara's defeat didn't give his input. The man gave Shikamaru Naruto's room number along with a special pass and sent him on his merry way with certain indifference, but not before giving him a handshake that almost crushed his hand.

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Having carefully analyzed every detail of the past few days, Shikamaru noticed only one thing: So far, nothing good had happened. He wasn't one to believe in karma, but he still hoped the next few days would make up for it. With a "poof", the copy ninja himself stood in front of him; not quite the answer he had expected. He didn't seem in a hurry, as usual, even though the service was starting soon. The young Nara didn't like talking to Kakashi: He was jealous of him. That man could be late and fool around and still get away with it. He also almost never lost his cool, which gave him a mean poker face. The young genius turned around, expecting to find the person the Jonin in front of him was looking for, but he didn't see anyone who fit the bill.

"Fancy meeting you here", the man said casually.

_Wait, wasn't he the one who told Sakura to wake me up?_ The boy's mood only grew worse

"What do you want?"

"My, my, aren't we impolite today."

"Sorry, what the heck do you want, Kakashi, _sir_?"

"Such bitterness; must be a bad day." Noticing Shikamaru's muteness, he continued: "Congratulations on your promotion."

He glared at him for what could be an instant, but Kakashi was still able to catch it.

"It seems you're not too happy about it. I guess I can't blame you: it was a little unexpected. If it were up to me or Asuma, you wouldn't have promoted today."

"Really?" It seemed the Jonin wasn't all that bad after all.

"Don't misunderstand. We disapprove the promotion _now_ because it's a matter that should be handled exclusively by the Hokage. But, other than that, you have all the required qualifications to become a fine Chunin."

Shikamaru tried to convince himself that he had heard wrong. But when he looked at Kakashi, he noticed that the Jonin was actually serious.

"I believe in you, Shikamaru. So do your father and your captain. The only thing left is for you to believe in yourself."

"Whatever."

Not really the kind of speech he was expecting – especially from Kakashi. It seemed like everybody was trying to make his day as bothersome as possible. He still wondered what possible advantages he would gain from this. He started to make a mental list of the positive and negative things. Positive: He'd have more prestige, more respect; he'd make Sasuke die of jealousy – not that he had anything against him, but it would be fun to knock him out of the top spot for a while… that was pretty much it actually. On to the negative : he'd have more missions, and more dangerous ones at that; for these missions he'd probably have to wake up earlier; those missions wouldn't necessarily be with his old team either, meaning no Choji; furthermore Iruka was Chunin, so he could end up teaching some troublesome brats one day or another... Seeing the direction this was going, he decided to put these thoughts aside.

The more he thought about it, the less these events appealed to him. He'd be the only Genin promoted, even though he didn't do anything special, and would only gain more troublesome responsibilities. The boy shrugged, and tried to leave. But it seemed Kakashi wasn't done with him yet because a hand reached for his shoulder as he passed by the Jonin.

"Ah… actually, I had something to ask you. You're going home, right?"

"Yeah."

"Would you mind making a stop at the hospital and checking up on Naruto for me?"

"Huh! Me? Why don't you ask your other team members?"

"I could, but they don't have the right to know his room number, which would make things quite difficult."

"What about you then?"

"Well… you see… I shouldn't know about this myself." Shikamaru groaned.  
"Besides, by the time I'd gotten there, both Naruto and I would be late for the service."

Shikamaru knew about Kakashi's lateness; it was almost as notorious as the boy's own laziness. He was determined to refuse the proposal, but when he tried to voice his refusal, his interlocutor turned into a simple puff of smoke. Such great timing; as expected of a Jonin of Kakashi's experience. The young ninja halfheartedly made his way to the hospital mumbling incoherently about Kakashi, vengeance, troublesome things and clouds. He became even more annoyed when the nurse shot him a dirty look for asking about Naruto and saying he was coming to get him out.

Now that he thought about it, this was all because of Naruto: if Naruto hadn't pushed him down the stands into the battlefield, none of these events would have happened. He was now fulminating, but only a Nara or Choji would be able to tell considering that his eternal scowl had barely changed. He finally opened the room planning to rudely wake up Naruto and to leave him be as quickly as possible, but not before giving him a piece of his mind. As meager a vengeance as it would be, that would be enough for him. After that, he'd assume his new punish – er… promotion.

His intentions changed when he stepped in the room. There was the instigator of all his troubles sleeping peacefully in a blank room. All that was there were white walls, a white bed and the boy on the bed. The way he looked appeased Shikamaru's turmoil. It wasn't peacefulness or that Naruto was cute whatsoever – the end of the world would have to come before a glimpse of that thought ever crossed his mind – but after a moment of observation he was finally able to put his finger on it: innocence. Though Naruto had just beaten one of the most terrifying monsters he had ever seen, he still had his trademark childish look. That and the pity he felt when he saw that the room was devoid of any medical equipment whatsoever. He didn't even want to wake him up anymore, but he had a mission, and he had to hurry too; he would have to run home in order to make it in time for the funeral ceremony, and he hated running.

He decided to call his name lightly. The results were unexpected: Naruto jolted awake, furiously gazing at every angle of the room shouting "Gaara" as loudly as a hyperactive 13 year old kid could do.

"Calm down. Gaara is gone. You defeated him, remember?"

Naruto took a deep breath and took a second look around. "Huh Shikamaru? What are you doing here? And _where_ is here, anyways?"

"The hospital. What's the last thing you remember?

"Well, I remember kicking Gaara's ass with my awesomeness! You should have been there! And…" he quickly stopped, now completely serious. "Where's Sakura! Is she alright? What about Sasuke!"

"They're both fine. They left the hospital this morning."

Not even a minute and Naruto had already enough material to give the young genius a serious headache. It seemed Naruto had been sleeping all the time, which meant he had no idea what had happened during the last two days. Shikamaru took a deep breath.

"Naruto. I've been sent here on the behalf of Kakashi to get you out of here."

"Kakashi! Where is he? I need to him to teach me the chidori as fast as…"

"I don't think you'll have time for that now."

"Huh?"

"Right now you have to head home and take out your funeral clothes, there's a service in about an hour."

"Really?" Naruto's expression saddened. "And who is it?"

"You'll know when you get there." Shikamaru made his way out of the room. "You should hurry up or you're going to be late." He really wished that another person would tell him. From what he heard, Naruto really appreciated the Third

Since Naruto already had his clothes on him they quickly left each other and headed in opposite directions in order to get ready for the upcoming service. The blond Genin dashed straight home in order to change. Luckily, under the inform mass of orange jumpsuits laid a completely black shirt. He dug out the pants he kept for serious occasions and changed before running out of his apartment as quickly as he had set foot in it. As he hurried along, he silently prayed it was only someone famous, and not any person he was close to. From what his friend had told him, it couldn't be Sasuke, Sakura or Kakashi, which was a relief, but his lack of response worried the energetic kid.

Shikamaru was almost beheaded by his mother, but since he had time to change and make it on time to the service, she ended up only scolding her son and punished him to a day of double chores. Of course, he could have argued that Kakashi and his commission prevented him from coming earlier, but one thing he learned about his mom and about women in general was the following: never argue with them; whatever you say, you're still wrong. On the way to the funeral, they met the Akimichi and the Yamanaka, and strolled along with them. The near complete team ten decided to move at their own pace, arriving at the place before most members of their respective clans.

From his spot, Shikamaru could see the whole crowd gathered around the memorial. He didn't remember seeing this many people since… ever actually. It gave him a certain sense of pride and belonging. He then thought about seeking people he knew. He found most of the teams were scattered all over the place. Though all the Jonin filled the front row, he didn't see Kakashi. After a quick scan he found him near the memorial, next to Konohamaru, Iruka and Naruto. Finally, he looked at the tomb itself. He wondered what he would be doing today if the Third were still alive. Would he be sadder if he had learned to know him more? The most annoying question by far was this one; if he, Shikamaru, had been stronger, would the results be any different than now?

From where he stood, all that Naruto could see was Sarutobi's picture, his gravestone and the Hokage figures in the background. At first his mind went blank; he couldn't understand how a Hokage could ever die. But from what he just heard, the foe he was facing wasn't an ordinary shinobi either. He wanted to be closer, so he could comfort his "pupil", but he was at loss for words. For a brief moment he felt like the burden of the village chief fell on the shoulders of everyone present. They would all have to live for his sake making sure he didn't die in vain. Yet, through all that he found the strength to smile again. Kakashi had appeared behind him, his presence enough to assure him he wasn't alone. When he left, his teammates were waiting for him. That gave him the feeling that with them he could do anything.

Naruto and Shikamaru were different in many ways. As one was behind, carefully gazing at the scene with a scowl on his face, the other was in the middle of it all, smiling at the end. The lazy genius was thinking about the past, while the energetic idiot had his eyes on the future. Where one wished he didn't have to bear his responsibilities, the other fervently wished for the day where he could be in the same position as the Third. Yet, in the midst of all their differences, they had one common thought about the Third's departure: nothing would be the same anymore.

If only they knew.

**_Something bad is definitely up ahead. Just what does the future hold in store for our promising duo!?_**

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**A/N: This is a project I had in mind for a while. This one will be more action oriented… After the introduction, that is. **


	2. Apocalypse

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**2. Preparation: Apocalypse**

**_A dark shadow looms. An even darker secret will be soon revealed._**

After the Third's sudden departure, most of the village had understood that things would change in Konoha; they just didn't know how soon or how that would happen. So, given the circumstances, it wasn't surprising to have a shinobi gathering the day after the funeral service. As soon as they found each other, the Konoha Rookies as well as team Gai gathered at one corner of the area, where they talked about the recent events. But the lack of stupid comments and obnoxious behavior lead to a startling discovery:

"Huh?! Naruto isn't here?"

That not even Sakura and Sasuke knew about their teammate's whereabouts was a little odd, but not alarming: he was probably late or scheming some prank… whatever it was, they were certain that they would hear about him soon enough. As for Shikamaru, Naruto's absence was only the tip of the iceberg. Upon closer inspection, he noticed even though most of the other teams were all present, including their captain, he had yet to see Asuma show himself, or Kakashi. When he asked team eight about Kurenai, he received a negative answer and the same happened for team Gai. That only served to confirm his worries; it seemed these absences were totally intentional. Neji and Shino had already come to the same conclusion, and even though he seemed not to care, so did the raven haired prodigy. But the super genius didn't have time to fuss about the people missing from this suspicious get together because the meeting had already started.

"As you all know the honorable Third Hokage was a man of exception. And throughout his entire life he has made decisions for the good of all Konoha… However, there is part of Konoha's history that has been clouded in shadow.  
The Council has decided that you, as accomplished ninjas, had the right to know about your history; either be it's amazing achievements or it's darkest hours. It is a truth that has been hidden by the departed Sarutobi himself, in order to protect you, but we think that as shinobi inheriting his will of fire, you will be able to use this knowledge for the greater good of the village."

He didn't know why just yet, but Shikamaru had a strange feeling about this whole meeting issue: somehow, it sounded like a well made half-truth. Of course, his preoccupation didn't concern what was the lie and what was the truth; this was only the preamble to the masquerade. He wasn't apprehensive of the motive behind this masquerade either. The reason the young Nara's unease was because of a simple question: who? Who could convince the Konoha Council to overthrow a law made by the Third himself? The pineapple head could only shudder at the thought that it could only be _that man_. He shivered, thinking that he was involved with a very dangerous guy.

After ten more minutes of useless banter, the speaker, who looked like a distinguished Jonin – or was he a Chunin? – started to relate the events that occurred 13 years ago. Of course, that left the whole assembly of soldiers a little vexed; an important gathering for some history lesson that most already learned about in their academy days was a little farfetched… that is until the narrator reached the climax mentioning just how the magnificent yellow flash had vanquished, or rather dealt with the Nine Tailed Fox.

"And so, using a jutsu of his own creation the Yellow Flash, Fourth Hokage at the time, finally defeated the Kyubi. The story doesn't end there however: The Nine Tails demon fox is some sort of natural phenomena, a manifestation of demonic chakra, and as such, cannot be killed directly. You must now be wondering how then did the Fourth dispose of such a threat. It's simple: he sealed the Kyubi into a newborn baby."

Now there was something new: the Kyubi was still alive and could destroy the village at any given moment. Many of the shinobi present started to shudder at the simple thought of the great calamity being unleashed once again. Of course few of them had actually experienced the events that happened then, but their imagination and the stories told by their parents and friends were enough to make them seize the importance of this piece of information. For some reason, the Konoha rookies, along with team Gai were especially uneasy about this. Neji was lost in thoughts. The truth about Naruto naturally revealed itself to him; how could it not after seeing that evil red fox looking chakra…

"Now, some people think that was the Fourth's greatest mistake. Even today there are few people that understand why he did that, as you can probably understand that a second event like that would be more catastrophic that what happened a few days ago, especially since the only shinobi who were able to deal with the threat are now gone."

Silence.

"Since the Third gave severe instructions regarding the seal, I will not tell you the name of the baby in question, but I'll give you a tip; he is currently a shinobi."

Shikamaru sighed. They could have as well screamed "Naruto is the demon fox at the top of the Hokage's tower"; it wouldn't have made much of a difference: Whisker like marks on the cheeks? Orphan almost hated by every adult? Being responsible of defeating a guy who had a demon sealed inside him? Wasn't it obvious who they were talking about!? From hearing the bribes of different lively conversations all around him, he could guess that everyone came up with the same conclusion. As expected, most of the Genin teams that were with the demon host during the Chunin exams weren't as surprised as the others by what had been said. Still, from the look on their faces, it didn't look like they would ever treat Naruto the same; even Sasuke and Sakura didn't look like they were the dobe's teammate anymore. There were some exceptions though: gratitude of the two young Hyuuga towards Naruto hadn't faded away yet.

"I can't believe that they could let a monster live among us like that for so long! I mean, what was the Third thinking!?"

The look Shikamaru gave Ino was a mix of disapprobation, fatigue and Shikamaru's special "I-was-expecting-a-dumb-comment-like-this" face he especially reserved for most of Ino's comments.

"Had anything against him before someone told you he was the Kyubi holder?"

"Not really, but…"

"And weren't you the one who cheered for him when he beat Neji? And most important, does he look like he could go all psycho-killer Gaara-style on us anytime soon?"

When he was sure he had her pondering her answer for the next ten minutes, the young Nara decided to reflect on the matter himself. It's not like he had any grudge or hard feelings towards Naruto, heck, he even considered him his friend… an idiotic-kind-of-like-Ino friend… just not that close of a relationship. But it's not like he didn't see where his teammate was coming from; how would you feel if you suddenly learned you were living next to a practically living bomb? That one of your comrade, teammate or worse your friend could turn homicidal on you in the blink of an eye? It wasn't a very comforting thought for the lazy genius. When he reviewed his talk with Naruto however, he felt a little more at ease.

The brand new promoted Chunin had a talk with the Nine Tails bearer about their last mission the previous day. From what he heard then and what he learned today, he reasoned Naruto must have used the power sealed within him to protect others, which sounded like something he would do. From what he understood, Naruto was still master of his own body. The thought of an idiot being the guardian of such a force was perplexing to say the least, but Shikamaru knew that if anyone could mess with a demon, it would be Naruto. He had just come to that conclusion when he heard a loud voice in the crowd:

"I don't like this" said a shinobi; "are you saying that we basically have a demon under human skin waiting heaven-knows-what just to slaughter us all!?"

"Well, replied the Jonin, it's a really blunt way of saying this, but you're right. That thing could unleash itself at any given moment. That thing is smart though, so it won't."

"Huh, why?" Said a another one among them

"It's simple. If the container dies, so does the demon. It understood that."

"You're wrong."

Everyone without exception turned to look at the shinobi who so casually refuted that answer. The young man hated being the center of attention but he had to set things straight. Shikamaru himself was surprised when he heard his own voice; he already started to regret speaking out loud. There was no backing down now, though.

"What?!"

"I don't know that much about the Kyubi, but from what I can see it can't escape Naruto or possess him or anything of the sort."

"And what makes you so sure about that?"

"You'd think a being that powerful wouldn't have taken over Naruto ages ago? Or that he'd take the opportunity like what happened a few days ago to break free and escape like you said? So why hasn't it done either these past 13 years?"

"Well… huh…"

"The reason is simple: it can't."

"Very interesting theory; got any means to back it up?" said the first shinobi from before.

"Yeah, how could you know better?" said another one. "You weren't born yet."

"You're not even on the same team."

"Well huh…"

Shikamaru hated going into details and it didn't seem they would actually believe him anyways. At this point it was a Jonin's word against the words of a Chunin not even officially promoted. Oh, well… He would just have to back off. Looking at his best friend while figuring out an answer, he noticed that he was smiling at him. It startled him for a moment, leaving him to wonder what could change his mood in this situation. He would have never guest it was due to him taking Naruto's defense.

"I can certify what Shikamaru said is true."

The answer shocked the assembly about has much as if the Third himself had come back from the grave. All of the heads present in the room turned towards the left of the Jonin speaker to find Shikamaru's "backup", which appeared to be none other than the meticulous man responsible for the Chunin's recent promotion. Needless to say he wasn't as ecstatic as one would expect.

"Lord Genta."

_So his name is Genta? Well… at least I know his name now._

"You mean, what this brat said is true!?"

"The Fourth wasn't skilled enough to kill the Kyubi, but he also wasn't a total irresponsible that he would seal a demon into someone knowing full well something like that would happen, right Nara?"

"I guess so."

"So that makes the Kyubi holder harmless."

Shikamaru smelt the bait; he knew it was easy enough for him just to agree with the previous statement. He decided not to let himself fooled by such a clever trick. Besides, he was the kind of person that always stood by the facts.

"Not quite; that means that Naruto can control the power he as to some extent, the fight with Gaara is proof of this. I suppose that if he misuses this power, he might succumb to the demon fox and all hell could break lose."

Well, he was sure that wasn't what all of Naruto's friends wanted to hear, especially Team Seven, but it was enough to dispel all misunderstanding. Now, Naruto wouldn't appear as dangerous at first glance as that Jonin wanted to show. What he was more relieved to see however, was the approbating smile of the one called Genta. Seeing his position in the council was enough to inform the Chunin that he did not want that man as an enemy.

Soon after, the shinobi were dismissed. The lazy genius took one more look around his comrades before leaving: it seemed their opinion of Naruto hadn't changed much, which was good. Neji gave him a knowing look as they made eye contact, telling him that not only he knew about Naruto, but he also knew what he was trying to do. He then nodded in thanks. Hinata was not too far from him, and the Nara youngster could read gratefulness from her eyes. He nodded at both and left, followed closely by the rest of his team. Eventually, Ino left them for the flower shop. Choji took this opportunity to question his best friend.

"Shikamaru? I understand that you were trying to protect Naruto, but why did you go about it halfheartedly?"

"Because I didn't want to get on that Genta guy's bad side."

"Huh?! But wasn't he the one that backed you up?"

"Trust me; the Jonin was nothing but a pawn. That guy is a Konoha council big shot. That announcement could have only come from a higher up from his level."

"But why did they do that?"

"Because they don't like the Kyubi."

If there was one thing Shikamaru liked about his friend, it was that he wasn't nosy. Choji simply stopped the discussion there and switched to another topic. It was fortunate for Shikamaru because he didn't want to share his suspicions even with his friend. It seemed even Neji hadn't noticed but if the council was behind an event like that, even though it was forbidden by the third, it would be for one reason only:

_Genta is plotting something against Naruto._

Shikamaru concluded that the next few days would be quite busy. Needless to say this left the Chunin with a sour expression: "Ugh, this is becoming so troublesome!"

**_"Troublesome" doesn't even begin to describe the dire situation they'll soon be facing! Be careful, young heroes!_**

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**A/N: Apocalypse means "revelation", just so you know…**

**I know, I know. There wasn't that much action in that one either. I promise the next will have some though. Oh! And thanks for the reviews everyone! If you think some things could be improved, please let me know.**


	3. Fracture

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**3. Preparation: Fracture**

**_Things are definitely turning for the worst; Naruto has no idea what's in store for him!_**

Naruto woke up early. Since he had woken up two days prior, he had missed all the possible occasions for him to train. He had energy to spare, and for a hyperactive thirteen year old like him it meant he had a furious urge to kick some ass. He was also in hurry to have Kakashi teach him the Chidori; he didn't want Sasuke to have an edge over him for too long. He quickly put on his orange jumpsuit, ate a bowl of ramen and readied his weapons.

Finally ready, he opened the door… to see Shikamaru trying to knock into thin air. The Chunin somewhat lost balance when his arm didn't meet the expected resistance, so he decided to see where the door had went. He understood when he saw Naruto stupidly looking at him and murmured "Troublesome".

"Ehh! Shikamaru!? What are you doing here?" he nearly screamed.

"Ever thought of not talking loud?" he asked, hands on his ears. "Heard it prevents your friends from losing their hearing."

"He he. Sorry about that." He lowered his voice. "So, what are you doing here Shikamaru?"

"I heard you like the Super Ninja Mayhem series."

"Of course I do! Soujiro is like the best hero ever and…"

"Did you watch the latest movie?"

"You mean the fourth one, 'Ninjas of the Oblivion'? No, I haven't been able to get my hands on it yet."

"I have the movie with me right now."

"You gotta be kidding me!?" Naruto's eyes began to sparkle. "You have to let me borrow it!"

"Sure. But I have a condition?"

"What is it? What is it?"

"You have to watch it right now because I have to lend it to a friend afterwards."

"What?! But I haven't trained with my squad since the Chunin exams began!"

"Is that so? I guess that settles it then. Too bad though: knowing my friend I don't think I'll be getting it back for a while…"

For a second, Naruto looked like he was hesitating. Then he spent the next minute completely still, which amazed the young Nara: That must have been the longest period of time he had seen a Naruto conscious and immobile at the same time. The Genin eventually agreed to watch the movie and wait for Shikamaru to come and pick up the video tape. The pineapple head quickly left Naruto for the team ten training grounds.

Shikamaru was relieved that the blonde had accepted his proposition; now he would be able to speak to Asuma without having to worry about the safety of the Kyubi host. The events of yesterday still fresh in his mind; the young Chunin feared that Genta's assassination attempt on Naruto would start as early as today. Fortunately, the residential area was constantly under heavy surveillance which meant Naruto's apartment was currently the best place for him to stay at.

He figured Naruto would want to train as soon as possible so yesterday he asked Team Seven about his likes and dislikes. Another fortunate event: it appeared they had the same movie tastes; go figure. He had bought the one Naruto was dying to watch weeks ago. The genius found wise to distract the blonde Genin this way. Somehow he wasn't sure that telling him that he shouldn't go out because "some Konoha big shots are trying to kill you and I seem to be the only one that figured it out" would have been as persuasive.

When he got at team ten's usual meeting place Asuma was patiently waiting alone, smoking a cigarette. It made sense since they were supposed to meet thirty minutes from now. He nearly choked when he saw his favorite pupil greeting him: Shikamaru was mostly late, sometimes on time; he was _never_ there before time.

"Shikamaru… what are you doing here this early?"

"I need to ask you something: do you know where Hatake Kakashi is?"

"Kakashi?" he stroked his pinch, and then took out a puff. "Should be back in Konoha soon. He left yesterday to complete an A-rank mission."

When Asuma asked his pupil why he wanted to know where Kakashi was, Shikamaru told him about the events that transpired yesterday. That Shikamaru knew of Naruto's past as well as the law concerning it's non-disclosure was proof enough for Asuma that something went horribly wrong while he was absent. He then asked about the people present at the event

"…Mostly Genin," he said after a bit of thought. "Some team captains were with them as well as the students at the ninja academy; none of them took the news very well."

"Figures." His smile was bitter. "Must've of been the work of Genta, the no good bastard!"

"Yeah, I thought as much. He was there too."

This time, Asuma did not reply. It seems he was thinking things through. After awhile, he asked Shikamaru how many people he thought had figured out the importance of the event. He answered that some of the other teams thought that it was important, but none of them came to the conclusion that Naruto was in any kind of danger: they probably thought it was the other way around to tell the truth.

At this point of the discussion, their teammates arrived. Asuma asked not mention this to nobody else. The young Nara agreed. He then tried to excuse himself from training in order to check on Naruto, but his captain stopped him.

"It'd be wiser for you to stay here and train; I'll go inform Kakashi of the situation immediately."

"Why? Naruto can't stay in house forever," he whispered. "He's bound to leave the residential area sooner or later; I've got to keep an eye on him."

"Actually, right now you're in no better position than Naruto."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Asuma gave no answers, but told Shikamaru he was to stay and train; the genius had no other choice but to comply. His teacher soon left them alone. Ino and Choji were obviously surprised about him and Asuma meeting like this, so they questioned him. The pineapple head opted to tell them part of the truth: he only told them that he had told Asuma about yesterday's meeting since he wasn't there and that it surprised him. Ino fell for it, but Choji knew better. He did not press on however, thinking that his partner and friend had a good reason for what he did. On that note they resumed their usual training regime.

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Meanwhile, Naruto was enjoying a second viewing of his new favorite movie; "Ninjas of Oblivion" was all he could ask for, and then some. After the second session however, he started to feel that itch to move and do something outside. Of course he remembered he told Shikamaru that he'd wait for him, so he was faced with a dilemma. After a moment of thought, he decided to wait for his friend; after all, he owed him that much for seeing the awesomeness of Soujiro's latest adventure. He took a deep breath and sat on the floor of the living room.

Ten minutes later Naruto was in the middle of Konoha rushing towards his favorite spot besides Ichimaru's ramen stand: the training grounds. Staying put in one place to wait for someone had been too much of a task for him after all. Besides, he had left on note on his apartment door signaling Shikamaru that he had left the door open in case he wasn't home when he came back. The blonde couldn't wait to see his friends: it had been a while since he had a good spar with Sasuke, and he really wanted Kakashi to teach him new tricks.

He was almost there when he heard a desperate shriek:

"Sasuke!"

That was definitely Sakura's voice: what was happening back there? His heart started to race. Fearing the worst, he rushed to the training grounds even faster that he thought possible for him. At first he could only discern the pink haired girl. She looked physically alright, which was a relief. He didn't like the expression she had on her face though; he couldn't decide if it was fear or worry; which were both bad things when he thought about it. When he turned his head in the direction she was facing, he quickly understood why: engulfed in purple like chakra was his best friend and rival: Sasuke. Only he didn't look like Sasuke at all. As he got closer, he noticed all of the dark spots covering his body. Naruto's body shook all over. Naruto would have thought he was in some kind of trouble if it wasn't for the fact that he had a wicked grin plastered on his face.

He opted for direct confrontation. He called his name. Immediately the Uchiha's Sharingan eyes were on him, his smile only growing larger; Naruto suddenly wished he was in his house, waiting for Shikamaru. Still, Sasuke looked like he was about to kill someone – probably him too – therefore he had to do something.

"Sasuke!"

"Ah! There you are. So, the almighty Naruto finally comes to training with us common people."

"What the hell are you talking about, Sasuke!?"

"What am I talking about!? Don't you screw with me, Naruto! We all know how special you are."

Naruto didn't understand what he meant, but sure didn't like where this was going. Getting his friend in a darker mood wasn't recommended at the moment; even he could see that.

"Listen Sasuke…" His tone was as calm and neutral as his worry and fear – now he understood why Sakura had that face – could permit it.

"But, as you can see, I'm special too." As he said those words, the purple aura around him intensified. "Let's see who's more special, shall we?"

Naruto obviously tried to object: whatever that new jutsu was, it looked as dangerous as the Chidori if not more. Kakashi wasn't here and Sakura was mortified, if those weren't sings that this was not a good time to fight, the purple chakra screaming "I am evil" clearly left no doubt in his mind.

Next thing he knew he was flung back a dozen of meters and rolled on the floor, almost loosing consciousness. He woozily got up. Sasuke was now standing where he was a couple of seconds ago; it didn't take a genius to understand what had happened. His crimson eyes were still only fixed on him. His smile unexpectedly grew larger. Naruto's whole body shivered; Sasuke had looks that could rival Gaara in creepiness.

The blonde Genin took a defensive stance. He was pondering on his next move when he heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. He looked on: Sasuke was now the one on the floor, out of breath. The purple aura and spots on his body also started to fade. Naruto couldn't understand, though; he hadn't done anything to trigger that effect. He decided to carefully approach his friend. From the distance, he could hear some cursing. A little closer and he could hear his voice clearly: "Damn, this wasn't supposed to happen! Not now!" It seemed that his knew jutsu or whatever had some sort of time limit.

Naruto permitted himself to sigh from relief. He walked closer; from this distance, he could clearly see the Uchiha's traits. It wasn't what he expected though; he looked like he was in intense pain. This confused the Genin even more, but he did not try to think about it. Forgetting that the raven haired boy looked like he wanted him dead a second ago, he started to run towards him. "Sasuke!" he yelled. Whatever his condition, he hoped a quick trip to the hospital was going to fix it.

Only a couple of meters were between him and the boy lying on the floor when a kunai flew in his direction and struck the ground right in front of him. Naruto jumped back and tried to look around for any more enemies, but there was no one in the vicinity. He looked back at Sasuke; Sakura was now crouched near him.

"Sakura, is he…?"

"Don't come any closer!" she yelled, surprising the yellow haired leaf nin. "This is all your fault!"

"Sakura…?"

"Sasuke has been cursed by Orochimaru" she suddenly said. "Kakashi says whenever Sasuke gives into his anger and hatred, the seal will react; He will get a burst of power, but he gets hurt in the process."

Naruto was shocked to hear that. At least it explained how he looked when they found him while facing Gaara. Still, he didn't understand why Sakura was mad at him or said this was his fault; Sasuke was already like that when he got here. Wait a second; was it her that threw the kunai? The Genin couldn't believe it. The kunoichi continued:

"After the match with Gaara, I made him promise he wouldn't use it again: he agreed. He thought it was useless since he lost against him anyway. Then yesterday we learned that you had the demon fox sealed inside you…"

His mind went blank. He couldn't hear the rest of Sakura's rant: he was too shocked to hear his friends had learned the truth. He must have heard wrong; didn't Iruka assure him the Third had made a rule against this? Yet he couldn't deny that the words he feared the most came out of her lips. He tried to focus on what she was saying again. It seemed she had calmed down somewhat.

"This is your fault! I wished I never met you."

His heart sank. I wasn't due to her declaration even if it did hurt. He saw something in her eyes he had hoped he'd never see in his friends: the hate, the indifference, the dreadful cold… though it was for a fleeting moment, he saw it in Sakura's emerald eyes. He had worked so hard, bled so much to make them acknowledge him; now the girl he had a crush on hated his guts. He looked at Sasuke: anger and a hint of jealousy was all he could see.

He stepped back, suddenly unable to face them any longer. Could they really be a team now that they knew? Wouldn't they resent him the way they used to? Would they even be able to greet him the next time he would face them? Those questions were lacerating his heart and soul better than any kunai could ever have.

He ran away from the training ground. He didn't know where he was going, but found it better that way. He needed time to think things through and retrieve his optimism. Surely things weren't as bad as he was guessing.

Far into the distance, on one of the rooftops of Konoha, one shinobi pointed Naruto to his comrade. The other shinobi nodded.

"Target acquired. Proceed with the mission."

**_Ominous words coming from men shrouded in darkness... What do they want with Naruto!?_**

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**A/N: Some action. There will be more on the coming chapters. Didn't think I'd be updating on Christmas. Anyways, Happy Holidays to anyone reading. Though, Naruto just got a hell of Christmas present… -_-'**


	4. Gone

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**4. Preparation: Gone**

_**Poor Naruto; his h**__**eart has been broken by his own teammates! And now...**_

Naruto had finally stopped his mad dash. It had done him good to run senselessly; he had almost forgotten the reason why he was currently out of breath. He sat on the nearest bench and tried to recollect his thoughts. The day had been awful. In fact, it wouldn't be farfetched to think this was the worst day of his entire life. The secret was out: all of the Konoha shinobis now knew of Naruto's evil guest.

He felt something warm on his face: tears. He hadn't cried since Sasuke almost died due to Haku's bloodline. He wiped them away: Shinobi shouldn't cry, and even though he had a good reason, this wasn't going to help. When he took a look at the back his hands, they were a mess of blood, dirt and water. Suddenly remembering the heavy blow dealt by his friend, he wondered why hadn't noticed sooner; a blow like this would have at least broken his nose.

The answer eventually came to him: this was due to the Kyuubi. He was more aware of this now that it had cost him so many things. Now more than ever he wished he hadn't been chosen to be the holder of the seal. But he also realized that it was now that he needed it the most. Both the fight with Neji and the battle with Gaara were won partly due to the demon chakra he borrowed. The blonde genin sighed: this was so confusing.

At least he was certain of one thing: he was a mess right now; both physically and emotionally. He figured a bath at home followed by a third viewing of "Ninjas of Oblivion" could comfort him a little, or at least clear his head. He took a good look around him: he had no idea where he was. He could always try to jump on the roof of a nearby building and find his way home from there.

He stopped himself just as was about to jump. He looked around again, but more carefully this time. He couldn't find anyone, yet he knew somebody was here because he could feel their presence. "Show yourself!" Naruto shouted; no answer. He was beginning to think his mind was playing tricks on him when suddenly his arms slammed against his ribs.

He tried to move but whatever was restraining him had completely sealed the movement of his body's upper region. Suddenly two masked figures appeared. From what he could see they were both shinobi, but he couldn't figure out their rank out of the clothes they were wearing. One of them was holding something. Upon closer inspection, he saw a wire going from his gloved hands to the genin himself; he understood now what was going on.

"Hey! Who are you guys? Release me immediately!"

Empty demand; at least he tried. Of course, he was totally ignored. The one holding the roped started talking to his fellow assaulter:

"So, is that him, eh?"

"Yup, you can see his whiskers; definitely the target. Let's get this over with."

That being said, the first shinobi, and subordinate by the looks of things, started to pull Naruto towards him. The blonde resisted, spitting out every insult known to a thirteen year-old. When that didn't work, he concentrated chakra into his feet hand walked in the other direction.

Exasperated by the sudden resistance, the shinobi holding the rope enrolled around his wrist, freeing his hands. He made a couple of hand signs and closed them together. Naruto could see the electrical energy coming out from his arms; whatever he was going to do with this would certainly not be pleasant. The soldier took hold of the rope once again; [Lightning Element: flash Wire Technique] the electrical energy surged from his hands to the wire and directly into Naruto.

Never before had Naruto experienced pain by electricity. The shock was intense and left the poor genin collapsed on the ground, breathless. The Shinobi resumed his pulling of the now more cooperative captive. Still conscious, the Kyuubi host tried in vain to move and resist. He felt his strength returning, but not fast enough; the assaulter was now within arm's reach of his target. Naruto wondered if this was to be the end of this miserable day. He prayed for someone to save him.

Apparently "someone" heard him; the wire wielding ninja got kicked to the face. Now standing in his place was a person Naruto couldn't be happier to see:

"Kakashi!"

"Ah, Naruto… in trouble, as usual." He sighed. "You could have at least give me sometime to rest properly."

"Damn it, Kakashi! This really isn't the time!" The genin got up; he was finally free from the wire.

"I can see that." One glance at Naruto's condition and the Copy ninja genius had all the information he needed to tackle the situation. "I don't know what you want with him, but you messed with the wrong kid. He's _my_ pupil after all."

The shinobi got up, poised to attack. The leader of the two who up until now had been motionless finally signaled his teammate to wait. He sighed then moved to front, making the single hand sign needed to perform the Shadow Clone Technique. In an instant, both Naruto and his teacher were surprised to see themselves surrounded by a dozen of look-alikes.

"Stand down, Hatake."

"The Shadow Clone Technique… and that voice… You guys are Leaf nin! What do you want with Naruto?"

"This is none of your business, Hatake! Just stand down and let me accomplish my mission!"

Kakashi started to reply, however he was startled by another voice.

"Konoha… Ninjas?"

This was Naruto's voice. Kakashi looked at Naruto for an instant thinking about how shocking this news could be for such a young shinobi. He remembered however this was no time to lose focus. He was right; the brief time Kakashi stopped paying attention to his surroundings, one of the shinobi clones started to make hands signs.

"[Fire Element: Fireball Technique]!"

The hardened jounin jumped out of harms way, leaving his pupil defenseless. Immediately, all of the other shinobi rushed towards Naruto. Kakashi worried: the genin looked spaced out after realizing they were from Konoha. He shouted his name hoping he would react.

Unfortunately, react he did.

He let out a disturbing cry as he unleashed an uncanny amount of chakra. The sudden burst of energy knocked back most of the assailants. Naruto then launched himself at the shinobi that had tried to capture him earlier. The surprised ninja had barely the time to recover that Naruto was upon him and punched him in the face. The power of the blow sent the unfortunate assaulter flying into the nearest building.

The demon chakra powered kid switched targets. He didn't know if was because of the habit of using that particular ninja art or because of his senses heightened by the Kyuubi, but he somehow knew exactly where the real clone making ninja was. He approached him and grabbed him by the throat. The man agonized in pain; it seemed Naruto's red chakra had fire like characteristics.

Kakashi went after Naruto; from the looks of things, he had most probably killed the first ninja and was about to do the same for the other.

"Naruto," he yelled, "stop, or you'll kill him!"

Naruto suddenly dropped the shinobi who was now panting hoarsely on the floor. The genin looked at his hands, and then at the man at his feet. His hands started to shake. He couldn't believe what he had almost done. He let out another cry, more humane than the last and looked at his teacher before dashing out of his view.

Kakashi sighed. The kid was certainly back to himself, but now the jounin was in a terrible situation: he wanted to go after Naruto, because he had no idea what the child could in such an unstable state of mind; on the other hand if he went after him the leaf nin assaulter would most likely die from his injuries, preventing Kakashi from finding out anything relevant on this event. He finally opted for investigation.

_Naruto, I hope you don't do anything stupid_.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru hurried as lazily as he could. The training had been better than usual, but the genius only thought that it was a waste of time preventing him from reaching Naruto. He feared the worst: there was no way a dumb energetic kid like him could be waiting patiently for his return. As he walked towards Uzumaki's apartment block, he saw what looked like a small burst of chakra. The color appeared familiar as well. The chuunin sighed; he hated running.

He couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the burst but since it didn't seem to cause a significant disturbance, he tried looking for most deserted place in the area. He figured he found the place when he found a collapsed wall. Not far from the wall was a burnt ground; these were the only clues to the battle that had taken place. This annoyed the lazy chuunin; this wasn't enough to even give him a lead on Naruto's current location.

Shikamaru wondered where he should look for Naruto next: He opted for their training grounds. He had almost left the desolated area when he felt a hand on his shoulders. He instinctively jumped forwards, turning around in the process and took out a kunai from his pouch.

"Whoa there, soldier!"

"Kakashi…sir!" He lowered his weapon "Where's Naruto?"

"Not here, I'm afraid. He headed north-east after the fight."

"So there was a battle here… I'll go after him."

"You won't be able to catch up with him; not in his state. Besides I have something else I want you to do."

"Not another one of your stupid errands," he whined.

"Sorry, but I'm kind of busy myself." His eyes made it look like he was smiling. "Anyways, could you check on the rest of team seven? Naruto shouldn't have been in this area in the first place, so I'm worried as to why he came in the first place."

"I get it: you think he was blackmailed in to coming here. This is so annoying. I guess I'll do it."

With that said, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shikamaru wondered when he'd get to learn the trick; it seemed quite handy. Unfortunately for him, he had to resort to running and rooftop hopping, both of which required a certain amount of effort.

Shikamaru found the training grounds empty, but from the look of things a spar had taken place not too long ago. He cursed; he had just missed them. He had no idea where to look next because based on Kakashi's hypothesis they were either hostages or worse. He still wasn't sure what to do when he heard a voice.

"Shikamaru."

The chuunin nearly jumped in surprise. When he turned around he saw a familiar face.

"Neji."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Sasuke and Sakura; I have to finish my report on the Gaara incident. I talked to Naruto two days ago about this and figured I'd found them here." He sighed: "Apparently I just missed them."

"They are both at the Konoha Hospital."

"Come again?"

"Earlier, Master Gai, Tenten and I went to visit Lee. On my way back I saw Sasuke in a room and Sakura sitting besides him."

"Oh great, just what I needed." He started to leave, but stopped himself. "By the way, why are _you_ here?"

Neji looked a Shikamaru for awhile before answering. "I wanted to make sure Naruto was alright. I found it weird that Naruto wasn't in the hospital with Sasuke. It means either he doesn't know about it…"

"Or he is in trouble himself," finished Shikamaru.

He shrugged and walked away, but it seemed Neji wasn't done with him.

"You're hiding something from me," he said bluntly. Shikamaru did not respond. "Listen, I know you have a better idea of what's happening to Naruto than I do and I know he is in trouble. I want to help; I owe him… a lot."

Shikamaru silently cursed; Neji was troublesome. He knew the Hyuuga could take care of himself – probably better than he could anyway, but he rejected the idea of having him involved in this. He didn't want him to attract Genta's attention.

"Normally I'd tell you, because all of this way past troublesome, but I can't; I was told to keep it a secret. What I can tell you however is that both Kakashi and Asuma are on his case and I was ordered to stay clear."

The Hyuuga couldn't argue against that: if two of the higher tier jounin were on this, there wasn't much he could do. He started to leave.

"And one more thing: Stay away from the guy who took my defense yesterday. Most likely he has something to do in all this. And he's powerful."

"How powerful are we talking about?"

"Powerful enough to promote me to chuunin."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru hurried to the hospital next. As far as he was concerned, this had cemented Kakashi's theory. He did however want to confirm, just to be certain. He easily found the room thanks to an encounter with a nurse from the Nara clan. Apparently, Sasuke had been admitted into the establishment about an hour ago. No wounds or signs of internal damage; he only needed some rest.

The first thing he saw when he entered the room was Sakura's head resting on Sasuke's bed. He thought she was sleeping but she lifted her head when his footsteps came within hearing distance. He felt sweat drop; she was in a stormy mood. Being Ino's teammate and friend he knew what to expect.

"What do you want?"

"I came to see you guys. How is he doing?"

Her expression softened somewhat. "He'll be fine."

"How'd he get hurt?"

"None of your business."

Shikamaru concluded this was a touchy subject. He didn't care about that anyway. All he wanted to know was if Kakashi was right or not.

"Listen, I met Kakashi earlier. He just came from his mission and wanted to make sure you two were alright. He worried one of you might be attacked so he wanted me to make sure everything's fine. That being said: did you or Naruto do this to Sasuke, or was it someone else?"

"No. He… he did that to himself." She had gone from angry to sad in a heartbeat. Her eyes were fixed on Sasuke.

Shikamaru wasn't even surprised; after all they were talking about the guy who collapsed after his battle in the chuunin's preliminaries. It probably had to do with the sharingan. Unfortunately, that meant that Kakashi was wrong and that Naruto's teammates hadn't been used as bait.

"So what about Naruto, then? Weren't you supposed to be doing combat practice together?"

"Naruto?" Her expression became cold. "This is all his fault! If only Sasuke hadn't learned he was the Kyuubi host…"

He didn't listen to the rest of her rant. A new and alarming idea had popped into his head: what if Naruto had gone in that area not because he was blackmailed, but because he was emotionally unstable? He quickly figured the most obvious reason for it to happen.

"… Now because of him, Sasuke exhausted himself and collapsed and…" Sakura was still ranting. Shikamaru decided to cut it short.

"What happened to Naruto!"

"What? What about Naruto?"

"What happened to Naruto when Sasuke collapsed?"

"Dunno. He looked shocked when I told him it was his fault. Next thing I knew, he was gone."

Shikamaru was wasting time; he still did not have the answer he was looking for.

"Did you tell Naruto?"

"…Tell him what?"

"That you learned he was the host; did you tell him?"

"Yeah, I did. Why?"

The young genius held his head against his face; he felt a headache was coming soon.

"Do you have any idea of what you just did?"

"I don't care right now; Sasuke's hurt because of him! He could go to hell for all I care."

Shikamaru thought that it might just be where Naruto was heading. It was now his turn to be in a dark mood. He didn't want to worry Sakura more than he needed; besides he didn't have the time to. He did however want to tell her a piece of his mind. And as he walked out from the room, he did just that.

"Sakura, you just might be an even bigger idiot than Naruto."

Leaving the room escorted by an array of medical equipment aimed at his head, He opted to quickly exit the hospital. Once outside, he found Kakashi waiting for him.

"So, how are they?"

"Fine. I wouldn't say the same for Naruto though."

"Why? What happened?"

Shikamaru waited until they were out in the crowd before explaining to him what he had learned. Kakashi sighed,

"I almost wished he _had_ been blackmailed. It would have made things easier."

"No kidding. Anyway, any leads on where he currently is?"

"He's nowhere to be found."

"What? Did he get caught?"

"The situation is much worse I'm afraid."

The young Nara thought nothing could be worse than the current situation. He cursed mentally when he realized what he had just been thinking; now things would definitely get worse.

"Naruto isn't in Konoha anymore."

_**Yep, this is definitely worse! What will happen next?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: Happy New year everybody. It's a big shocker… for Shikamaru, at least. Speaking of which, the next chapter will be mostly Shikamaru-ish.**

**Also I made a Jutsu-pedia. You can find it in my profile, should any question about a jutsu seen in this fic arise.  
**


	5. Pursuit

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**5. Preparation: Pursuit**

_**Naruto runs away! And it's up to Kakashi and Shikamaru to bring him back!**_

"Naruto isn't in Konoha anymore."

Shikamaru tried to convince himself he had heard wrong; it failed miserably. He then hoped maybe what Kakashi meant was different.

"You mean, the assailants kidnapped him and took him out of the city, right?"

"No, I mean Naruto willingly ran away from Konoha."

Shikamaru sighed. His expression would have shown worry, but right now he was too tired to do so. The terrible news might have had more of an effect on him earlier today; considering the situation, Shikamaru would have been more surprised if Naruto _hadn't_ run away. Something puzzled him though:

"Uh, mind telling why you're not currently after him?"

Kakashi motioned the shadow user to follow him into a more private place. After a couple of turns from the main street, they were completely alone in a place he wasn't sure he recognized. There the jounin explained to him the fight that had taken place as well as the identity of Naruto's assailants.

Shikamaru was glad he had all of the info on the current situation but it lead into more questions on top of the one Naruto's teacher still didn't answer.

"You still didn't answer my question: why aren't you currently after him?"

"Well, that's because I don't want to end in the same situation as him."

When a ninja ran away from his village, he was automatically recorded in the village bingo book with at least a B rank rating: the reason was that he might reveal some secrets to neighboring countries. Considering Naruto was already seen as a threat by the village he would probably get an "A" rank.

"Don't the jounin have some kind of special permission to leave the village or something?"

"Only for half a day at most: after that the Hokage – and for now the council – must be informed of the shinobi's position."

"And since you just told me that the ones who attacked Naruto were from Konoha, not to mention they had the mission to do so… ugh, things just keep getting better and better!" he said, wryly

The situation was dire to say the least: Naruto had fled Konoha at one of the worst possible times: anything that currently looked remotely like a threat was dealt with severely. He at least knew that a part of the council would flat out reject Kakashi's demand for a retrieval mission. The real problem was that even if they did agree on the mission, they surely wouldn't send him or any other team for that matter; they were so busy after the recent attack of the combined Hidden Villages of Sound and Sand that they had no human resource to spare.

"So what are you going to do?"

"What else am I going to do? I'm going to get my student back. I'm in a bit of a pickle though, since I can't leave and all."

The chuunin didn't like where this was going. He wondered: was it coincidence that every time that jounin talked to him, things got exponentially troublesome? Whatever Kakashi had in mind, it was sure to become a nuisance for him as well.

"That's where you come in; I need you to…"

"I thought as much," said Shikamaru. He became extremely tired all of a sudden.

"Something the matter?"

"In fact, there is: Captain Asuma told me not to get involved with this and he wouldn't tell me why; you on the other hand have done everything to do just that. And it's not just you two either; most adults I know are hiding something from me."

There was a pause; one where Kakashi looked at Shikamaru with something akin to pity and the Nara simply glared back, his usual scowl on his face. The chuunin looked around. They were still in the early afternoon; hard to believe the day had already gone to hell after such a short amount of time. The jounin finally sighed.

"Shikamaru…"

"Listen. I want to help; I also want to know what I'm getting myself into. I know this is kind of urgent and all, but I need some time to be on my own."

"Fine," Kakashi had said after another long moment of silence. "Meet me in front of the Hokage tower at sundown."

"You know I might not be there," said the genius after consideration.

"Yeah, but I know you will."

He made the familiar hand sign and vanished, leaving Shikamaru to find his way back on his own. The young man wearily headed home; he didn't feel this tired since he came back from the forest of death. He needed time to think – No, scratch that. He actually needed time not to think; all the recent events happened so fast they were literally giving him a headache. Kakashi was right: he would be there. Shikamaru knew deep down he wanted to see things trough till the end, but before that, he needed some answers.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The first thing he noticed when he entered his house was the smell of cooked meat. Shikamaru heard no reply when he announced his presence; his mom probably when out to shop after making dinner, as usual. He couldn't help but grin; if Mrs. Nara was out then Mr. Nara couldn't be very far.

He took off his shoes and headed towards the living room. There, Shikaku Nara was busy sleeping, a newspaper covering his face. When he got close enough, his son swiftly took out the newspaper from its resting place. The sleeping father jolted out of the comfort of his sofa looking half scared, half confused. The young Nara was always amazed by the result. He couldn't blame his father though; the person who usually woke up Shikaku in such a manner was his wife and only when she was furious.

When the man realized who had just woken him up, he collapsed on his sofa shooting a murderous, yet tired glare at his son.

"Jerk."

"Sorry, but I needed to wake you up."

"Can't a man get his well deserved rest after a tiring B-rank mission?"

"Not when said man is currently skipping his deer tending duties."

"What do you want?" said a now fully awake Shikaku.

"We need to talk."

The man took a good long look at his son. A bitter smile appeared on his lips. "So, it's that time already?" he muttered so softly that his son didn't hear. He got up and left for the deer grounds with Shikamaru not far behind. They walked until they reached the outskirts of the Nara Forest. Shikamaru then realized his father knew what they were going to have an important talk; this part of Konoha was strictly forbidden to anyone who wasn't from the Nara clan.

Shikaku found a tree he could sit against and waited for his son to do the same. Then they casually started to talk about the deer and how they were doing. An onlooker might think it was their way of fooling someone trying to listen in on their conversation; in reality it was a way for the Nara men to clear their minds before any serious discussion.

"I start," stated the father. "Why are you only asking now?"

"Because I'm about to do something incredibly stupid; I just want some answers before that."

"And what might that…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's my turn to ask now."

His father snorted; He wondered who had made the rules for Nara discussions so fair. He remembered; both of them decided discussions to be boring and decided to turn it into a game. The rules: They could only ask questions taking turns; one per turn. No lies. It was satisfying for both as it made things much more interesting. Shikamaru continued:

"Why was I named chuunin by the council?"

"Someone needed a hostage to keep me in check. He's currently plotting something big. I was on to him and he found out; he made you a chuunin so he could have you MIA the second I tried anything funny, the bastard!"

Shikamaru could easily guess who "someone" was. Well that explained why everybody was acting funny around him. He remembered what Genta told his father about Konoha taking care of him; it made more sense now. Even though it wasn't his fault, he felt bad holding back his dad like that. In any case, it was his father's turn to ask a question.

"What's this incredibly stupid move you're going to make?"

"I'm about to risk my life to save a friend."

"Details."

"Tch!"

Shikamaru was annoyed; he forgot one was allowed to ask for details if the answer was deemed insufficient. With a sigh, he related the events of the past two days to his father. As expected, Shikaku was surprised when heard about yesterday's meeting and the news of Naruto's sudden departure left them in a somewhat awkward silence. His then father smiled.

"In other words, you let Kakashi boss you around on top of Asuma? What an idiot! Maybe you should also show your father some love and support by doing some my missions for me."

"Shut up! It's not like I had any choice, you know. Besides, you asked a question when it wasn't your turn so I get to ask two now." That was enough to turn Shikaku's smile into a scowl. "First, why do you think Captain Kakashi needs me in the first place? There's plenty of chuunin to help him with this."

"You're a brand new chuunin, meaning you're not currently assigned to any teams besides Asuma's. As a chuunin you can make your own team or take on a mission solo. And considering the news about the Kyuubi, he needed someone he could trust and who would see to Naruto's well being as well."

"Second question: why does "someone" want Naruto dead?"

"That's not necessarily what he's after."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't have to answer that, since that was your third question. You'll just have to figure it out by yourself."

"Damn it!"

"Last question: why are you going to do it?"

"Dunno."

"Don't know?"

"I don't know. At first, it was because I didn't want anyone to die; we all went through the chuunin exams and that hellish attack from two hidden villages and still, all of the young rookies along with team Gai made it through. Maybe I felt responsible because at the time I was the first one to figure out something was up. I keep thinking there's something else, but I can't figure what it is."

"Tch! Troublesome kid. You're a true idiot you know that?" Shikaku gave him a warm, fatherly smile.

"I could say the same the way you ended with someone like mom. Like father like son, I guess."

They both silently watched the deer herd stupidly grinning; laughing must have been too troublesome for them. After a while, the father headed home; Shikamaru stayed to watch the clouds. The talk with his father only lasted half an hour. The boy was planning to spend all of the remaining time doing what he liked doing the most; he had a feeling he wouldn't be doing so for quite awhile.

Most people assumed cloud watching was Shikamaru's way of saying he took a nap: they were wrong. The young man would simply lie on his back and literally watch them. His scowl disappeared in those moments as every tensed muscle in his body gradually relaxed. The few people that observed him in those moments noticed he didn't do the things normal people tended to do when watching clouds, like trying to identify the various shapes they could have, or following their direction; it was like he was taking a nap with his eyes open.

More than once Choji had asked him what was he actually looking at – or looking for up there. The answer surprised him: Shikamaru didn't know. In fact, he often wondered why it had to be clouds: He had tried things like star gazing or taking walks; even watching clear skies didn't have the same effect. After a while he figured it was because he wanted to be like them. Maybe it was because he had become addicted to the fleeting moments his mind actually went totally blank, not thinking of anything.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

It was almost time for the meeting when Shikamaru finally got up. He didn't know for how long he was there, only that the sun was almost down. As walked his mind suddenly shifted into gear and he thought about the clouds and how they needed the wind in order to move. Maybe that's why he wasn't totally opposed to the idea of risking his life for Naruto; maybe he needed this kind of situation in order to grow and become stronger.

He didn't know why, but now he was thinking about Choji. He finally understood why his friend was so proud and happy that he had taken Naruto's defense: It must have reminded him of his past. Shikamaru remembered befriending Choji out of the sheer fact that the others were making fun of him and he had found their behavior retarded. He was surprised at how long it took to figure that out. He concluded another reason why he liked cloud gazing was the epiphanies he would get afterwards most of the time.

He decided not to go home; goodbyes were troublesome and he really didn't want his mother worried – or upset – while he was in the vicinity. He took a turn to the left and headed straight to the Hokage tower. When he arrived, he noticed, with little shock, that Kakashi was nowhere to be found. "Figures," the chuunin thought bitterly, "the guy can't even be on time to save his student's life."

A man casually dressed exited the tower and headed towards his direction. Shikamaru had a feeling things would get more troublesome.

"Mr. Nara. The council is waiting for you."

"Waiting… for me?"

"Yes: Mr. Hatake said you both wanted a meeting with the council. Unfortunately he said he would be a little late and that since you knew the subject of the meeting you could start without him."

"Troublesome jerk." He muttered. Shikamaru let out a sigh and resigned himself. "Please, lead the way."

"With Pleasure."

The two made their way towards a room Shikamaru was now familiar with; he didn't think he would be back in the room of his promotion so soon. Like last time, the room was almost filled. There were some new faces, while some were missing. Unfortunately, Genta was here as well. He took a quick glance at the assembly; they all looked as if they had been here for hours. He theorized they were discussing about the various ways to recover from the last attack without showing signs of weakness in front of the other countries.

He made his way to the center of the room like the last time. As he got closer he noticed that none of the people representing the well known clans were here. "Not good," he thought; He had an idea of the council's attitude towards Naruto from the last time he was here. Chances were high his proposal would be refused.

"State your name, rank as well as the object of this meeting."

"Nara Shikamaru, chuunin. I am here to bring you important news as well as a request."

There was a pause. He noted a woman scribbling something on his right; she was probably in charge of meeting's record for the archives.

"Please, go on."

"Naruto has run away from Konoha." He waited for the murmurs to quiet down before adding: "I would like to request to take care of the retrieval mission." More whispers. Unsurprisingly, Genta was the one to reply.

"We have been informed of this incident earlier today. You have done well to inform us, but I'm afraid it would be hazardous to send a brand new chuunin on such a high risk mission."

"Actually, I don't think it's such a dangerous mission. Naruto is…"

"An emotionally unstable kid hosting one of the most powerful demons to ever roam the earth?" said, someone to his left.

"The young boy responsible for the defeat of a giant sand demon?" asked a second.

"Well, whatever the case, I don't think it would be reasonable to send a brand new chuunin after an S-rank criminal," concluded yet another one of them

"S-rank criminal!? You've got to be kidding me! Naruto hasn't even left the village for a day now."

"You're right," was the reply of the leader of the board; "and that's the only reason why the hunter nin haven't been dispatched yet. They will however be sent to retrieve him tomorrow at dawn. Well, members of the council, this was the last case up for discussion today; the meeting session is as of now closed."

All Shikamaru could do was watch as the members of the council exited the room one by one. It was true he could have told them about what Kakashi had told him; but he had two reasons not to: First he had no proof of his claims, meaning he could be discredited in the eyes of the council; second revealing Genta's plot, even if he would deny it, would definitely do more than get the young man on his bad side, something he wished to prevent at all cost.

The Nara boy decided to go after the man responsible for this whole mess personally. He found him heading towards the exit. The man stopped to face Shikamaru.

"Mr. Nara, the session is over. I you can see I am leaving; you should do the same."

"Sorry, but we have to talk."

"Oh, and what more is there to say?"

"Only this; I know what happened to Naruto and I know you're behind it.

Genta's face became pale, but he managed to smile.

"Such an accusation Mr. Nara; I hope you have proof to back it up.

"He doesn't, but I do. Said a voice Shikamaru instantly recognized.

"Hatake." Genta's tone was ice cold. "Late, as usual: the meeting as already ended."

"Ah, well, you see I was on the road to the Hokage tower when I took a wrong turn and got lost on the road of life. There, I met this guy and he gave me this funny shaped scroll and I…"

Late, yet right on time: the paradox of Hatake Kakashi. Shikamaru reminded himself to thank him later… and punch him in the gut. Apparently, he wasn't the only one annoyed by his behavior though; Genta decided to stop the useless chattering.

"Hatake..." he simply warned.

"Right… so where were we? Ah, yes, Naruto's case. I'm sure you know that Naruto left a huge amount of chakra before he left. I confirmed it was because of a battle that took place at the time. Due to those circumstances and your recent "announcement", you might say that Naruto was chased out of Konoha."

"I suppose you have proof of what you are assuming."

"In fact I do: I was there myself. I met his assailants: one of them is currently under my custody."

"So?"

"He was badly hurt, so I took him somewhere to treat his wounds. I also had a little chat with him; funny how people suddenly become honest when they think there about to die.

Shikamaru's reasoning about Genta's involvement in the attack was confirmed when he took a glance at him; he wasn't smiling anymore. The boy had to admit Kakashi was pretty cool: totally changing the situation like that. Maybe now that the tables had turned, the genius' help wasn't even needed.

"What do you want, Hatake?"

"Give me Naruto's retrieval mission." Genta snorted at Kakashi's demand.

"…It will take some time. You'll have to wait at least until tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah," confirmed Shikamaru with a sarcastic tone, "that'll give you more than enough time for _your_ hunter nin to go after Naruto, am I right?"

"Heh whatever," replied Genta. He was now smiling. "I can give you the mission right now if you want, Hatake; that doesn't change the fact that Naruto will be arrested the second he steps into Konoha."

Genta was right; whatever the reason, the fact that Naruto had fled and been classed as an S-rank criminal still remained. There had to be someway to justify him, but both Kakashi and Shikamaru had no idea what to do. Fortunately, they knew just the person to ask to.

"So, what do we do now?" Kakashi's question was directed to Genta, which surprised him.

"What do you mean "we"? As far as I'm concerned, this is your problem, Hatake."

"As far as I'm concerned," replied the jounin, "Naruto's well being is directly linked to your political career, Mr. Genta."

The only thing the council member could do was sneer wildly at Kakashi. He thought about the situation for a moment and came out with a solution.

"He needs an excuse for leaving the village; there would be no trouble if he left because he was sent on a mission."

"But the council already knows he ran away," objected Shikamaru.

"I can deal with that. The real problem lies on the fact that he can't go on a mission solo, since he's only a genin. Someone has to find him, give him the task and complete it with him."

"I'll go: he's my pupil after all."

"Kakashi, I think it would be better if I went."

"Shikamaru…"

"We'll talk about it later."

Genta shrugged and went into the Hokage's office followed by the shinobi. Kakashi tried to convince the chuunin of the mistake he was doing, but Shikamaru didn't want to hear it. The man responsible for Naruto's departure opened a bunch of scrolls on the Hokage's desk and asked the two of them to pick a mission. Shikamaru took a quick glance at the scrolls; what he saw shocked him.

"Wait a sec; these are all S-ranked missions!"

"So? Naruto is an S-ranked criminal; it is only reasonable that he redeems himself with a mission of the same class. Besides, those are the only missions currently available; you're free to wait for the new missions that will come tomorrow."

Genta was smiling: he had the upper hand once again. They all knew that if they wanted to find the blonde genin before the hunter nin did, they had to leave as soon as possible. Shikamaru sighed and picked one of the scrolls. The council president objected at first because this wasn't the normal procedure but he quickly let it slide; it was a small price to pay to get rid of those annoying pests.

Shikamaru left the tower with Kakashi. The jounin was still worried about the situation. Shikamaru decided to explain his choice now that Genta wasn't present. If Kakashi left, Genta would be very well able to find Naruto's assaulter and make him disappear without a trace while the jounin was absent. It also came to the genius' mind that Genta might be plotting something against the rest of team seven. If he left on the other hand, it might improve things in more ways than one.

He then gave the scroll to Kakashi saying: "Besides, it's not like I'm in any hurry to die." Kakashi took a look at the mission. The task was one of the most dangerous so he didn't understand at first what Shikamaru had meant. The mission was the capture of an S-rank criminal; It was a hard task most Anbu had aborted midway. Then he got the picture.

"So, you're planning to abort the mission? Very clever."

"Yeah, we'll roam about for a month or two, and then we'll come back."

"Heh." he sighed "I just hope Naruto doesn't do anything stupid in the meantime."

"What could he do? I don't think there's any way for him to worsen the situation"

"We're talking about Naruto: you'd be surprised."

Kakashi wished the chuunin good luck and disappeared. Shikamaru looked around him. It was now dark. He sighed: he was now all alone. As he walked towards the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village he thought about all the people he was leaving behind. His first thought was for his mom; she would kill him without fail when he'd come back. Then he was reminded of his own team. There was no doubt that they would be worried, but he was sure that Captain Asuma would understand.

He felt particularly bad for Choji. These last days had been the first time he had ever hid anything from his best friend. Not to mention he was now leaving him without a word or anything. Shikamaru was tempted to march this instant towards the Akimichi grounds and have a talk with him, but he resisted; it was too late now. Nevertheless, he silently swore he'd do everything to come back in one piece and tell him everything.

Shikamaru summarized his current situation: he was currently leaving behind his team, his friends and family, risking his life; for what? For a genin probably hated by most of the village at the moment and that he didn't know that well too. His father was right: he was an idiot. That didn't prevent him from grinning stupidly thinking he had done the right thing.

He was almost at the gates when a hand landed on his shoulder. The chuunin tried not to be startled and turned around to see who it was. His surprise dropped by half when he saw the man the hand belonged to.

"First Kakashi, then Neji, and now you; can't you people stop coming from behind?"

"Maybe if you stop daydreaming all the time you'd notice people coming from behind, with your ninja training and all." was his father's reply. The man had brought a backpack along with Shikamaru's chuunin vest. He handed both to his son. "I figured you wouldn't be coming back home, so I brought you these; you might need them."

"What's in the bag?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Thanks dad."

"You sure you want to do this?" His father knew he was a shinobi and all, but he was still his father.

"Yeah. At least now nothing prevents you from opposing Genta for the moment; give him hell for me, O.K.?"

"You can bet I will."

Shikaku left. Shikamaru walked through the gates by showing the scroll to the guards and went into the forest. He jumped his way to the top of the highest tree and took a good look at the village; he usually did that for every mission that had him leave the village. It was the first time he had looked at the scenery by night; the shining stars mixed with the different light posts and house lights were truly breathtaking... Not for Shikamaru though. He simply shrugged; he wasn't that much of a poet. After a final silent goodbye to Konoha, he moved out.

_**The mission has started; time to find Naruto!**_

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**A/N: Finally, the end of the first arc! Believe it or not, I had intended to do this whole thing with two chapters tops… -__-'. Anyways, I hope you're looking forward to their first mission. Reviews would be awesome.**


	6. Retrieval

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**6. The First Mission: Retrieval**

_**This new chuunin is now on a mission to bring Naruto back. Hurry up, Shikamaru!**_

Shikamaru had been hopping from tree branch to tree branch for so long he had lost track of the time. The only thing he knew was that the sun had been up for awhile and that he was bored out of his mind. That jounin could travel so much alone was a mystery to him. At first he guessed the best way to pass time was to think about something else so he spent then night doing so; in the end it only succeeded to worsen his mood.

There was a little time before noon when Shikamaru realized he was slowing down. He wasn't surprised: he was sleep deprived. While looking through his new chuunin vest for something to fight off his fatigue he found some red marbles he immediately identified as soldier pills. Choji had mentioned those during the preliminaries; one of those and a ninja could fight for three days straight without any need to sleep.

Considering Naruto had a head start of almost half a day, in demon form no less, Shikamaru knew he'd need to use one of those if he wanted a chance to catch up to him before it was too late. He took a pill: the effects were immediate. He felt a rush of adrenaline as well as chakra. He was much faster than his regular self, even in his best form and his fatigue simply evaporated. He felt like could keep this up for ever. Things were still pretty boring though. And they stayed that way for yet another full day.

The fact that he was simply following Kakashi's hunch had him worried until he finally started to pick up erratic traces still leading north-east; Leave it to Naruto to blindly go in a straight line. He wasn't complaining though because it made the first part of his task easier. Also, the fact that he hadn't slept for almost 40 hours started to take a toll on him, soldier pill or not. He hoped he'd find him soon and get some shut eye. He picked up the pace.

A couple of more hours passed and still nothing. Frustration began to creep into the Nara's mind along with doubt: Maybe he had taken the wrong way; maybe Naruto didn't need sleep and traveled as fast as he did; maybe he was already in the Country of lightning… Kakashi might have been a better choice for this mission after all. He decided that after another day of pointless pursuit he would try to contact Naruto's captain or his father for advice.

As he was brooding over his bad luck and pathetic tracking skills, he noticed a familiar looking silhouette not too far away. He thought his mind had finally started to play tricks on him but just in case, he decided to shout out his name: it's not like someone would be watching him yelling at an illusion and call him crazy. After another minute of doubt, he called his name.

"Naruto!"

The results were unexpected: the blur looked confused for a moment, and then significantly increased the pace, momentarily leaving Shikamaru's line of vision. The chuunin cursed and hurried after him. After a while he spotted him jumping trough the trees had high speed: he was definitely trying to run away from him. The Nara boy relied on the boost in power given by the drug to keep up. With a few more minutes he was close enough so he could try to talk to the blonde, but this time there was no reaction. He mentally shrugged: maybe if Naruto saw is face things would settle down.

A few more jumps and he was next to him. His hand reached for the genin's shoulder but something unexpected happened; he had barely touched Naruto that the blonde disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shikamaru lost his balance. He didn't seem to notice; he was so confused.

"Sh-…!"

The chuunin didn't even have time to mentally curse that he was slammed into the nearby tree. When he opened his eyes after the shock, he saw the real Naruto with a kunai at his throat and an expression face telling Shikamaru that he was at least as shocked as the chuunin of this sudden meeting. The surprise didn't last long and Naruto's kunai went from an inch of Shikamaru's neck to an uncomfortable contact with his skin. The blonde's face told him that wouldn't hesitate to dispose of him if he did anything stupid; lucky for him, that wasn't his forte.

"Why are you after me?"

"Because I want to help you."

"Sorry, but how do I know I can trust you?"

"Naruto, it's me Shikamaru! Can't you tell!" There was a short pause during which Naruto looked like he was struggling with something.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way. Next time I won't be so kind."

Without any further notice Naruto punched Shikamaru in the stomach with all his strength. The genius bent over, his hands instinctively reaching for the source of his pain, but the blonde stopped his arms in order to open a way for second body blow. Thinking the shinobi was knocked unconscious, Naruto left.

Normally, Shikamaru would have fainted, but the stamina strengthening pill he took also seemed to affect his overall endurance; leaving him in a spot where he wished he did lose consciousness. He wasn't knocked out but the pain was there, and it hurt like hell; not to mention the fact that those blows left him almost lifeless on a tree, dangerously leaning towards a fall that could very well break a bone or two. Shikamaru was supposed to save Naruto. He didn't expect the boy in need of rescue would be the one giving the most trouble; if that was any way of being "kind", he had no idea what to expect from him from then onwards.

After a few minutes, the black pineapple haired boy was finally able to sit up at the cost of painful efforts. He knew it would take another long while before he be up for another chase. As he looked towards the direction he had last seen Naruto, he could only think of one thing:

"Stupid Naruto! This is such a pain in the ass!"

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Naruto didn't know for how long he had been moving since he had left Shikamaru's company. It could've been a couple of hours, maybe more. All he knew was that it had been at top speed and that now, he was tired; even his legs started to hurt. He wanted to stop, but couldn't; wasn't this the exact reason Shikamaru had caught up to him in the first place? If he hadn't gone to sleep that time… but he didn't get caught by the lazy shinobi anyway, so he didn't blame himself too much.

His thoughts remained on Shikamaru: why was he the one they sent after him? That didn't make sense in the blonde's mind. Even though he acknowledged his strength, there was no doubt for he that he was a better than the lazy ninja. After some time pondering on the matter he figured they must have sent him in order to get the better of him by using a friend to drop his guard. He had to admit it was pretty smart of them, but fortunately they didn't know him that well to have sent someone not even part of team seven; had they sent Kakashi things would have been different.

He decided to take a break when he felt that pushing himself further would impair his fighting abilities. He did so because the encounter with his comrade left him with the impression that eventually more pursuers would come. He used the [Shadow Clones Technique] and sent his replicas in various directions while he sat down on the tree branch he stopped on, his back leaning against the tree, and started taking deep breaths. He got up after recovering somewhat. His stomach growled: he hadn't eaten in days. He didn't know what he could give in exchange of bowl of ramen.

The clones came back: nothing suspicious in the vicinity. Sighing of relief, he found the current time perfect to plan out his next move. So far the only thing he knew was that he wasn't welcome in Konoha anymore and his natural reaction was to run away. Did that mean he would have to give up his dream, let alone being a ninja? Would he be able to find refuge in the neighboring countries? The question that really got to him however was the most simple: Did he really want to leave Konoha?

He thought he had found the answer, but then strange white feathers started to rain. He tried to pick one up: the white feather simply vanished upon contact with his hand. Naruto got up: this was surely the work of another ninja. He tried to survey the area, but to no avail. Even worse, he had now trouble keeping his eyes open. This was surely the result the jutsu being used. He would have to investigate… after his nap…

The blonde woke up to a bumpy feeling: the unpleasant sensation of being carried. He opened his eyes and looked around him: to his left was a skinny looking ninja. He was rather short, with dark brown hair and wore glasses. The one who was currently under him was a though looking ninja. His face was partially hidden by the hood he was wearing so Naruto didn't have a view of his traits. Both their head bands had the familiar leaf symbol on them.

Naruto tried to move but his hands and feet were tied. Finally realizing his situation, the genin started squirming in every direction while shouting threats and demanding that they let him go, or at least answer his questions. This lasted until the corpulent looking ninja grew tired of his annoyance and delivered a solid blow to the kid's sternum using his shoulder. As Naruto gasped for air, the other shinobi warned him:

"You'd better calm down now; you're even starting to get on my nerves."

"And what if I don't?" he asked defiantly.

"Ha! Not a problem: Our task was to bring you back to the village dead or alive. Though Lord Genta specially asked that you be brought back alive, I don't think he mentioned anything about not breaking all of your bones." When he heard this, Naruto finally calmed down. "Good, I knew you'd see things our way."

"How did you find me so fast? And why are you after me?"

"I'd be ashamed to call myself a hunter nin if it took me longer to find a runaway genin, boy!" he said with a laugh.

The other ninja, who up until now had remained silent, decided to join on the conversation: "Seriously Ryuhi, you'd think a monster like him would have put up more of a resistance or something…"

"Actually, I'm glad it was that easy. Knowing you, Akira, you probably would have gone overboard."

"You don't say." his tone was bitter and sarcastic.

Naruto was perplexed by Akira's comments. "What's his problem?" he asked the skinny Ninja. Ryuhi smiled. Even in this peculiar situation, that kid still had the guts to be rude and idiotic: admirable.

"His problem is you actually."

"Huh! What did I do to him? I don't even know the guy, you know."

"You killed my brother." said guy replied.

Naruto was quickly overcome by guilt. Could it be that he there were casualties the day he left Konoha.

"When was that?" he asked carefully.

"Thirteen years ago."

"Thirtee- Thirteen **years** ago! I don't even think I was born then! How would I be able to kill your brother!"

"Shut, up you can't fool me! All of us know who you really are, monster!"

Again Naruto saw that familiar glare. That look always told him that he was condemned to be alone hated by the rest of the world. He really couldn't comprehend why he was being blamed for something a demon did so long ago. He was Naruto, damn it, not some demon fox! He suddenly remembered Gaara and felt stupid. He had told the sand village genin about the people who understood him and accepted him; turns out they simply didn't know the truth. He'd apologize to him next time they met, but for that he'd have to escape his current situation.

He contemplated the idea of unleashing the Kyuubi on his captors: who cared what would happen to them. He did feel bad for that Ryuhi guy; he had been a nice guy, although he was sending him to his doom. Unfortunately, he could feel Akira's body stiffen under him, and when he looked at his partner, he was on alert. Could they have already figured out his intentions? He was already devising another escape plan when Akira cried out:

"Whoever you are, we know you're following us: show yourself!"

"Heh, how troublesome."

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Naruto recognized the expression before he even identified the familiar voice. So, Shikamaru had finally caught up with his team, huh? He frowned: now escaping would be even harder than before. The Nara kid showed himself, but instead of the relief he expected from the hunter nin, there was surprise instead.

"That headband… you're from Konoha!" reasoned Ryuhi.

"So what if I am?"

"What do want with us kid?" asked Akira.

"I just want to do my job."

"And what that got to do with us?"

"Nothing: except for the fact that you're holding my partner captive."

"Nice story" complimented Ryuhi, "do you really think that we'll believe you though?"

"Well, the fact that I'm doing this the easy way should be proof enough. If I wanted to do this the hard way, I'd have already left with my friend there."

"Oh really?"

As Akira said that, his partner tried to reach for his kunai, but he couldn't. Ryuhi called for his comrade in vain; Akira was in the same situation. Amongst the confusion, Shikamaru's voice could be heard: "[Shadow Biding Technique]: Success". The hunter nin immediately identified the jutsu.

"Shadow biding…? How can this be! I didn't even see you use any hand signs."

"Well of course you didn't you couldn't see me in the first place." As he said that his clone disappeared in a puff of smoke while the real Nara appeared. "While you guys were focused on my clone, I had my shadow circle you from the various shadows of the trees in order to get you from behind. By the way, you can move now."

Seeing he could move again, Ryuhi immediately reached for his kunai. Akira threw Naruto from his shoulders and readied himself as well. As for Shikamaru, he reached for the scroll he had taken from Genta and showed to them.

"I was afraid something like this might happen, so I asked for the scroll as well."

"An S-rank mission, concluded Akira after taking a glace at the seal on the scroll."

"Yeah: do you really think they would have sent me alone on such a high raked mission?"

"Care to explain why we were sent after the brat then?"

"Well, that idiot left the day before the departure. And since he is who he is… they probably thought it would be cautious to send reinforcement in case, you know, the demon broke free."

Akira snorted. "Makes sense, I guess: you can't be too careful with a bastard demon like him. Sure you want to team up with him, though?

"He's a pain in the ass, but I'll manage, I guess."

Meanwhile, Ryuhi had taken the opportunity to open the scroll to make sure it wasn't a fake one, he suddenly burst in laughter. The young Nara asked for an answer, but all the hunter nin did was give the scroll to his partner so he could read it. After a while a smirk appeared on his face.

"What? What's so funny?" asked the boy.

"So it's that mission eh? I guess they were right to pair you up with the demon: you'll need all the help you can get: if you want to survive this I mean."

"So, what kind of mission is it?"

"It was our first "hunting" mission," replied Ryuhi. With that said the hunter nin gave the scroll back to Shikamaru and made their way back to Konoha.

Meanwhile Naruto was still tied up, but he had managed to sit up. He didn't hear what Shikamaru and the hunter nin were talking about; all he figured out was that they were talking about a scroll. When his captors left, he figured Shikamaru was going to take care of him. He smiled; it would be easier for him to get away.

His mood changed when his former comrade drew a kunai from his vest. Naruto feared the boy's task had now become a dispatch mission. To his big surprise, Shikamaru simply cut the ropes that were restraining him. Naruto got up massaging his wrist. He was confused.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Didn't I tell you before? It's to help you."

Naruto smiled bitterly. "Sorry, but do you really expect me to believe that? Since people learned that I had the Demon Fox sealed inside of me everybody hates me. I don't have a place in Konoha anymore."

Shikamaru let out a sigh. "Naruto, you're an idiot."

"What!"

"Isn't your mission to protect Konoha as leaf nin? Wasn't it you that defeated Gaara in order to do so? Do you think that headband only identifies you as a ninja? Listen to me: as long as you continue to do what you always did, and as long as you wear that headband, you're as much a part of Konoha as I am."

"Shikamaru…"

"But if you really think that you're not part of Konoha anymore, if you truly want to leave… I'll have to ask you for that forehead protector."

Naruto took out his Hitai-Ate and looked at it closely. He remembered when he first got it: the pain, the tears, the rage, and the pride… a day he'd never forget. Reviewing that memory made him notice that Iruka had known Naruto's secret from beginning. Actually, the same could be said for Kakashi as well. And now Shikamaru was in front of him, trying to help him despite knowing the truth. He felt relief beyond what he had thought possible.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give this up; it's too important to me. This is everything I stand for, this my promise to become the Hokage. It's my nindo and my identity all in one."

"That's great," said Shikamaru, "one problem though: a missing nin can't become Hokage. And since you stupidly ran away like that…"

"…What! No way! Shikamaru you've got to help me!"

"Relax, relax, I'm just kidding, it's all taken care of."

"Not funny."

"I should be the one saying that: I had to run after you for two days straight without sleeping just to caught up with you: and for what! Just to get punched in the gut. Because of that you got captured and I had to run yet another day without sleeping just so I could get you out of your mess. Talk about a pain in the ass."

"Oh," said Naruto after remembering what had happened during their earlier meeting, "sorry about that, he, he. So what do we do now?"

But Shikamaru didn't say another word, and without warning simply fell on his back. Worried, Naruto hurried to his side only to hear only to hear a light regular snore coming from the collapsed shinobi. Running after Naruto for three days straight had really taken its toll on Shikamaru. The blonde genin smiled warmly at his friend. The sun wasn't gone yet, so there was no need to prepare a fire. Since Shikamaru was sleeping, he would have to stay awake and be on watch duty for a little while; small price to pay for the trouble Shikamaru went through to help him.

"Thanks, Shikamaru."

_**The target as finally been reached: Now what!**_

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**A/N: Hi guys. Here's the new chapter and the beginning of a new ark. I'm really, really, **_**really**_** sorry for not updating for so long. It's not that I didn't want to or anything (funny thing though, I didn't really enjoy writing this chapter for some reason)… it's just that I'm incredibly good at procrastinating… which isn't good. Don't worry though; the next chapter will come out faster. Maybe there will be a similar pause between arks. As always, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. Look forward to the next one.**

******Also I made a Jutsu-pedia. You can find it in my profile, should any question about a jutsu seen in this fic arise.**

**PS: awesome reviews are awesome. As always thanks for the reviews.**


	7. Briefing

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**7. The First Mission: Briefing**

_**Shikamaru has retrieved Naruto: time to plan the next step!**_

"Uh, Shikamaru…? Mind telling me where we're going again?"

"For the fifth time Naruto; we're going to a remote village near the Country of Lightning."

It had only been a day since the two had been traveling together and already the blonde dobe was testing the limits of the chuunin's patience. The genin kept asking questions Shikamaru had clearly answered when he first informed Naruto of their current situation.

After writing a message to Kakashi informing him of his intentions, the young chuunin proceeded to shed some light on the events that led to Naruto's short lived self-imposed exile as well as his own troubles – except for his promotion as he wanted Choji to be the first one to hear the news. It seemed the Kyuubi holder had no trouble realizing that Genta was a threat, though he had no idea why the man was after him, nor did he question the Nara's actions up until now. The reason why Naruto was currently questioning their current plan was beyond him though.

"But what does that have to do with our mission."

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Then why are we going there?"

"Well it's specifically _because_ this village has nothing to do with our mission that we are going there.

"…Eh!?"

"The mission was simply a pretext to prevent you from being hunted as a missing nin. We'll go from village from village for a couple of months and then return back to Konohagakure to abort the said mission.

"Oh…" Naruto kept silent however a glance could tell Shikamaru that Naruto wasn't done with him yet.

"Uh, Shikamaru…"

"…What?" His voice sounded tired. Exasperation started to creep through his face as well.

"Is it an official mission?"

"Yeah, it is; or else I wouldn't be able the fool the hunter nin"

"So, let's just complete the mission! We'll be even more credible, right?"

The black haired boy felt his whole body stiffen at this ridiculous proposition. A newbie chuunin and a genin taking on an S-ranked mission was the equivalent of suicide in his mind. The young Nara was going to explain that to his comrade when he remembered Naruto didn't know anything about the mission. Heck, even he didn't know the specifics: all that he read and mattered to him was that this mission had no time limit and could be aborted if it appeared impossible to accomplish after a certain time. He had also learned the day before that they were hunting a criminal from Naruto's captors. This was enough information for him to know he didn't want to tackle this task

"No," he said bluntly, "We're not doing this mission; End of story."

"Eh, but why? I haven't had a mission for almost a month now!" whined the genin.

"This mission is way out of our league."

"Come on! It can't be that bad."

"It's an S-ranked mission that many Anbu aborted; even the hunter nin that were after you couldn't pull it off. Besides the person who gave us this mission is Genta," replied Shikamaru.

"Genta… the same bastard that sent those guys after me? That Genta?"

"Yeah, and seeing he doesn't like neither of us, it might be a good idea to lay low instead."

Naruto, having nothing to say to that, remained silent. Shikamaru breathed a little easier. While not spending as much time with him as team seven the genius had more than enough time to learn how stubborn Naruto could be during the time they spent in the academy; He was the only student who ever made Iruka throw multiple tantrums in an hour as far as he knew. Having that in mind he had expected the air head to make a more vivid opposition, fortunately, that wasn't the case… or at least, that what he thought; it seemed his new teammate wasn't done with the issue.

"Shikamaru, we're going to do it."

"Huh Naruto, didn't just hear what I said about the danger and the "S" rank and the obvious trap and did I mention it's an S-rank mission?"

"I know that: even more reasons to try. I know that Genta guy is behind everything, right? But if we actually complete this mission, even if he wants me dead, he'll have to acknowledge my use to the village. If he still wants me dead, then I'll at least know his motives aren't protecting Konoha. If that's the case I'll do whatever it takes to bring him down."

The chuunin tried to argue and raised a finger disapprovingly only to lower it in silence. He took a moment to think of answer tried to speak up, but still no words came. Finally he made a weird expression: he had a smile that looked like scowl and eyes filled both with amazement and depression.

"You're… actually right, it would be better to take try to complete this mission," he said still not believing that he had agreed with him. Not only his suggestion was valid, it was the best way to go on the long run. Genta was powerful, but even he couldn't control all of the council. If they could get Naruto on the good side of the board as well as the eventual Hokage, he and the blonde genin were guaranteed a relative safety.

"Alright, we'll do it", decided the lazy genius.

"You're serious!? Awesome! I promise you won't regret this!"

"Too late; I already am. This is suicide, you know? Man, how troublesome! I guess all that's left is to take a look at this mission of ours…"

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Meanwhile, back in Konoha…

Neji entered Rock Lee's room. His comrade was surprised by his visit, even more so when he noticed the lack of Tenten and Master Gai.

"Neji? Shouldn't you be training with that youthful energy of yours? And how come you're alone?"

"I came to ask you something: noticed anything peculiar these last days?"

"No, not really; everything is quite peaceful around here."

"My thoughts exactly."

Lee tried to figure out what his friend was getting at. The only incident he was aware of was about the Uchiha. He had been here for a couple of days, which granted Lee the fortunate pleasure of seeing the beautiful Haruno Sakura… wait Sasuke and Sakura…!?

"Naruto!" concluded the injured nin.

"Have you seen him?"

"No, which is odd: my youthful friend would be quite happy to see Sasuke in bed to gloat over him, yet I haven't heard anything from him."

"I feared as much. What about Shikamaru? I heard he came to talk to Haruno and the Uchiha the day they were brought in."

"Indeed, and lucky for him he hasn't come back since."

"What do you mean?"

"He angered my beautiful Blossom," said the green beast of Konoha, the fire of passion in his eyes. "Even if I'm wounded, it is my role as a gentleman and as Sakura's protector to ensure that this most foul deed does not go unpunished."

Neji found the whole event odd – besides Lee's natural weirdness. Sure he did notice the genius had misogynistic tendencies after seeing Shikamaru's fights, but he also was smart enough not to voluntarily provoke people. He inquired about the said event but Rock Lee had no answers to give him. He thanked his partner and exited the Hospital. Next stop: the team seven training grounds; Kakashi must've had an idea of what was going on.

Surprisingly, he met his cousin on the way to the grounds.

"Hi-… Lady Hinata, It's a surprise to see you in this part of town.

"Ah! Neji! I was just… hum, I-I guess I got lost," said the shy, and now tomato red girl.

"Are you going to see captain Kakashi?"

Seeing that it was useless to lie to her cousin, Hinata simply admitted the truth. Neji told her about his own worries and about Shikamaru's concern for Naruto. He then went on to ask Hinata when she noticed Naruto's absence.

"W-well, Naruto usually goes to Ichimaru's ramen every day at noon, three and seven o'clock. He hasn't been there for five days now so…" She then noticed how Neji was looking at her: he looked both surprised and disturbed. "I-Is something wrong Neji?"

"Lady Hinata, are you perhaps… stalking Naruto?"

"What!? I-I'd never do that! That'd be rude and hum… I just kind of see him on my way to meet the rest of my team."

"I see… in any case we should drop by his house to see if he's there"

"He's not; nobody has been near his apartment for days."

It wasn't until she saw Neji's amused smile that she realized her mistake. She let out a small shriek and put her hands in front of her mouth; if she could have been more embarrassed, she'd probably die. Meanwhile, Neji opted to focus on other matters. Promising his cousin to keep her stalking habits a secret Neji rushed to training grounds followed by a now mute Hinata.

The Hyuuga prodigy was glad to found that Kakashi was not sent on a mission and was indeed with the rest of team seven; however, as he opened his mouth to greet the esteemed jounin, he didn't hear his own voice.

"Hey, captain Kakashi!"

"Kiba…"

"Hi sir, mind if I borrow you Naruto for a while?" Looking around, the dog trainer noticed Neji's presence. "So you're also here for a rematch, Neji?"

The kid from the Inuzuka clan was accompanied by Shino, who had nothing better to do that day. Immediately the tension rose; neither of them had forgotten what the Hyuuga had done to their teammate. The culprit simply shrugged.

"Something the matter?"

"Yeah, maybe Hinata is a sweet and forgiving girl, but I'm not; after I'm done with Naruto, I'm coming after you."

"Be free to do so; I could always use the warm up."

"Why, you son of a…"

"While I do find all this drama mildly entertaining," and judging by the fact he was still reading his book, none of the people present couldn't help but feel Kakashi was being sarcastic, "maybe you should wait for me to answer your question before ignoring me and arguing with your fellow shinobi – preferably elsewhere: I am in the middle of something here."

"Kakashi, sir… sorry."

"I suppose you're also here about Naruto?" he said finally showing his well covered face.

Everyone present turned around to see the newcomer, who was none other than Choji. The corpulent kid nodded while eating his chips. As for Kakashi, he sighed; he currently wished he was the one risking his life with Naruto instead of covering up for him.

"Well, Naruto is currently on a special mission right now, so I can't talk about it. He'll be back soon though so nothing to worry about." They could tell from his eye that he was smiling.

At this announcement, team eight left the grounds; obviously everything was normal. Those who knew better and didn't want to worry the others needlessly, Namely Choji and Neji, stayed behind, their questions only being half-answered. It seems that these two would be harder to convince than the others…

"Captain Kakashi," said the Hyuuga, "a couple of days ago Naruto was involved in some kind of incident, and I haven't heard of him ever since. Shikamaru noticed this as well and I haven't been able to contact him either: I'm just wondering if there's something wrong."

"I see… and what about you Choji?"

"I just want to know how Shikamaru's doing." Seeing Kakashi's eyebrow rise, the Akimichi explained himself. "I knew Shikamaru had left about a day after he did: things like that can't slip past us. Being probably the most laid back ninja of Konoha – or maybe not; it could be you…"  
Kakashi couldn't choose between being offended because he just had been called lazy or because Choji had compared his legendary laziness to that of an amateur like Shikamaru.

"...There are few reasons he wouldn't be in his usual spot, so I figured he set out on a mission without telling me anything, and that meant he probably is on an urgent mission. I know he had been worried over Naruto these past days, and Asuma confirmed my suspicions so…"

The jounin was amazed by how much Choji knew his best friend. He confirmed that the lazy genius was indeed with Uzumaki Naruto on a mission that had a direct relation to the incident mentioned by Neji. He assured them both were fine as he told them about the report he received from Shikamaru earlier today. This new answer pleased both the Akimichi and the Hyuuga and both were on their way.

_And now, for the hard part_, thought Kakashi as he heard the voice of his pupil: "Kakashi, what are you doing?" The jounin turned around to face the Uchiha survivor. He and Sakura had been here before the other teams to ask the same questions. The jounin knew he'd have to tell team seven about Naruto sooner or later; he just didn't expect it would be on the same day Sasuke had left the hospital. And most of the Konoha twelve had come straight to him for answers too; definitely not a good day.

"Well, Sasuke I'm informing them of Naruto's current situation." The boy's frown had gotten uglier, sign that he was rapidly losing patience.

"I heard that, I'm not an idiot; what I don't understand is why you didn't answer me when I asked you the same question."

"Well I didn't want to upset you with this; you were in the hospital just couple of hours ago."

The Uchiha prodigy wasn't convinced; His captain could have very well given that info to Sakura. The fact that they had been kept completely in the dark during his stay was hiding something deeper. Most of all, jealousy was eating him alive: Naruto had been sent on a mission without him; accompanied by a nobody no less.

As for Sakura, she hadn't uttered a word since the beginning of the argument. For some reason she could feel a tense atmosphere and didn't want to get into any sort of trouble. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the way captain Kakashi was acting was disturbing her.

"Still there's something you're not telling me. Naruto would have never left without a word: "discreet" is an inexistent word in his vocabulary. Actually he shouldn't have; isn't what teamwork is all about?"

Suddenly Sasuke back stepped. He looked at Sakura; she was frozen, looking at her captain with a certain degree of disbelief. The raven haired concluded she had felt the same thing he did. It had lasted less than an instant, and it wasn't quite the killer intent they had experienced in the Forest of Death, yet it wasn't a harmless glare either. At any rate he felt like something bad would happen if he wasn't careful. Problem was he had no idea what had caused this sudden outburst of anger. Fortunately, Kakashi explained himself.

"I would advise you to refrain from using words like "teamwork"."

The jounin sighed; he had overreacted. He suddenly felt very tired; he didn't want to be here longer than necessary. Looking at his pupils now, he felt like he had failed them; the sentiment being reinforced by the fact that one of them was currently in a very difficult situation.

Kakashi told them in detail about Naruto's situation. Both genin's eyes grew wide when they learned Naruto had fled the hidden village; they were even more surprised to hear the council's behavior on the topic.

"But, why would the council do that? Naruto is a shinobi of this village." Sakura was now filled with worry for her teammate. "He'll be alright, won't he?"

"If he was anybody but Naruto, I'd be hopeful to at least see him come back to Konoha safe and sound. Knowing his current position though, I wouldn't be surprised if he attempted to complete the S-rank mission by himself if he had to."

"He wouldn't so foolish to attempt something that crazy," answered Sasuke, but he wasn't sure of his statement. Kakashi's eye looked at him without a trace of emotion: the Uchiha's answer had left him a tad bitter.

"Really, now? I thought you, out of anybody in Konoha would be able to understand the crisis he's currently facing. Let's look at it together, shall we? He was betrayed by the only people he considered family and got almost killed by the people he trusted; doesn't it remind you of something, mister avenger?"

Naruto's teammates remained silent; they were crushed by guilt. Seeing neither of them was going to talk, Kakashi took this opportunity to speak his mind on their in Naruto's predicament.

"I'm disappointed in you two. Sakura: you blamed Naruto for a mistake that was clearly this idiot's fault," he said pointing a finger at the said idiot, who was so shocked by the revelation he didn't even glare back. "You let your emotions cloud your judgment at the worst time possible and as a result hurt Naruto more than this boy's cursed seal could ever have."

Sakura looked miserable; she was doing all she could not to cry. It was the second time Kakashi had spoken to them this way, and the reasons were similar, too, however never had he been this harsh. The kunoichi knew she wasn't anything special compared the rest of team seven and had relied and their support and encouragement in order to move forward; her captain's disappointment only made things more painful.

Of course, she mostly felt awful because of Naruto. The last words she had told him before he left were constantly ringing in her head. While it was true that sometimes he behaved like an idiot, he hadn't deserved her harshness then. Actually, looking back, Sakura noticed how little she had supported Naruto since they had become a team. All the times the blonde kid had been kind and helped her she had repaid with verbal and physical abuse.

Her regrets were sincere; she finally saw how wrong she had been towards Naruto. She made a silent vow to better their relationship when he came back. But there laid the problem: what if he didn't come back; what would she do then? The thought sent shivers down her spine.

Meanwhile Kakashi's shifted his attention to his other pupil.

"Sasuke, I don't know what's gotten in to you. Had you taken the time to actually think things through, Naruto wouldn't be in this mess right now. And I had warned you about being consumed by greed and anger, too.

Sasuke couldn't even lift his head. Kakashi was right; the one who understood Naruto the most besides his captain was him, and yet he had let something stupid come between them. Naruto was currently the one person he felt close to; one of the few people who were in a situation to understand him: they had both suffered and were alone in the world; they were both strong and although he didn't want to admit it too loud, he liked having such a great equal pushing him to refine and surpass his skills. He was one of the only people he wasn't ashamed to call a friend… most of the time… when he was in a good mood…

He was troubled by Kakashi's little rant. Why would they want to harm Naruto? The kid wasn't dangerous, if anything he had too much wasted potential. The Uchiha was also mad at himself for not noticing anything sooner: of course Naruto wouldn't feel special about his power, knowing him he must have hated relying on a power that wasn't his own, forced to go on a path he didn't chose. He could relate now, but it was too late.

"You should be thankful; if Shikamaru hadn't been around, who knows what of might happened to Naruto. He gave his all to protect a fellow shinobi…even when his own situation would be something to worry about. _You_, on the other hand, let down your teammate for no good reason except your own selfishness; I hope you're proud yourselves."

After a silence that seemed to last an eternity, the captain of team seven announced their new plan of action.

"As of now until further notice, there will no more training."

Sasuke looked at the jounin in disbelief but he slowly lowered his head when Kakashi stared right back.

"You are free to seek help from another instructor, but I wouldn't count on it if I were you: things are pretty hectic right now. In the mean time, be ready for anything: we could be sent on a mission at a moment's notice and there is a small chance that the man behind Naruto's predicament might come after you as well. After that, all we can do is hope that Naruto will make it back here in one piece."

Sakura was lost; from what her captain was saying, they would pretty much stay clear from each other unless necessary. She thought that considering the current situation, now would be the best to stick together as a team. When she voiced her opinion, Kakashi gave her an odd look. The pink haired kunoichi couldn't tell if the jounin's eye reflected amusement or sadness.

"You have no idea how big was Naruto's role in team seven, do you?"

With that said Kakashi left in his trademark puff of smoke. When Sakura looked to Sasuke, wondering what she had said wrong, he was already gone. Whatever it was that eluded her, Sakura had a feeling she was soon going to found out… and that she wouldn't like it.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Elsewhere in the country of Fire, Shikamaru was opening the mission scroll in order to get a better grasp of their objective. The number of people that died during the mission rivaled the number of shinobi that aborted after months of search. All in all more than thirty had tried and failed to do what Shikamaru and Naruto were now attempting. This was all depressing, however when Shikamaru looked at the name of the criminal he became white.

"You got to be kidding me!"

"What? What's wrong?

Shikamaru showed the name and the picture of their target.

"We're going after a Hyuuga."

_**Two rookies against a Hyuuga!? Will they be able to overcome those overwhelming odds!?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: For those who wondered how everything was back in Konoha, well here's your answer. Anyways, new chapter. Enjoy!**


	8. Introduction

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**8. The First Mission: Introduction**

_**This mission is definitely bad news... at least for Shikamaru.**_

Naruto looked closely at the name of their target. He then starred blankly at is partner.

"So, how is this bad news again?"

Shikamaru's hand reached for his forehead as he sighed. He had expected a dumb reaction out of Naruto but this was ridiculous; had he any idea of what he was getting himself into? Might as well head back to Konoha right now and abort what the genius thought was a death sentence.

It wasn't like his teammate had a choice anyway; it was due to the young Nara that Naruto had the leisure to actually accept a mission in the first place. Besides, although he didn't mention this information to Naruto, he was of a higher rank than him which made him the leader de facto. Still he thought wise to try and change his mind rather than convince him using any other method. He didn't want to ruin all the efforts given into rescuing him so far; for all he knew the Uzumaki kid could very well attempt to complete the mission on his own, even if he had no idea where to start.

"Naruto, who do you think is the strongest person you ever fought so far?"

"Kakashi! No matter how much we try, the rest of the team can't even graze him."

"I thought as much."

"Then again that Orochimaru guy totally kicked our collective asses. I wonder who's stronger between the two of them."

When the blonde stopped wondering and looked at Shikamaru, the lazy genius had taken his hands of his forehead just enough so his eyes could throw doubting glance back at the genin. The Chuunin then put his hands back in his pockets and looked at Naruto as if trying to gauge him.

"_You_ fought with _the_ Orochimaru?"

"Yeah, At least that's the name Sakura gave me."

"And you're still alive?"

"Jeez Shikamaru, are you an idiot? I'm right in front of you aren't I?"

"How did that happen?"

The genin more than happy to show his heroics, told in detail – accompanied by large gestures and even some mimics – how he had first fought against the Sannin's summon before taking the battle directly to his opponent. He particularly gloated over the moment where he proudly taunted the Sharingan user while saving his life before fainting.

"Wait a second: you weren't afraid of Orochimaru, but you were afraid of Gaara?" his disbelief was still apparent, but a smile was slowly creeping up his face.

The hesitant genin nervously mumbled incomprehensible excuses before shouting "Shut up! You were as scared as me you know! How would you feel if a guy talked to you about killing to prove his existence and whatnot?"

"Relax, I was there, you know. Actually, I'm probably the guy who knows the most about Gaara besides you. But, just so you know, Orochimaru is far more powerful than Gaara even in his demon form."

"What!?"

"Which brings us to our next point: Kohaku Hyuuga. Now, this guy is recorded in the bingo book: what does that imply?"

"Well… hmm…" Naruto rubbed his chin and looked like he really was thinking things through. "I guess that means that he's a bad guy, right."

"… you have no idea how the bingo book works, do you?"

This time, instead of sighing, Shikamaru yawned. The more time passed the less he was surprised by Naruto's lack of knowledge. He sat down and motioned his teammate to do the same. Finding a comfortable position, the chuunin attempted to explain the concept of the book as simply as possible.

In principle every hidden village had its own; a list of the most powerful or dangerous people of the different countries. In the beginning, it served as some sort of bounty hunting list: the most notorious and/or dangerous criminals were recorded there along with a relatively short bio as well as a various descriptions. Of course, there were instances where a criminal was too dangerous to be left missing for too long or had simply fled to another country, so the notices were sent to every hidden village and incorporated into their own Bingo Book.

Things changed during the period of the great wars: the first being that many war heroes from the enemy countries were added. After said wars, a part of the peace treaty stipulated the creation of a "global" Bingo Book: on top of the names already in it, this book was to feature any and every missing nin from then on without exception.

Another change that came after the war was that the global version of the book, dubbed the "Small Bingo Book" was entirely assimilated into the hidden villages. At first, the higher ups felt things would be better if the names of active ninjas in the village were removed, but the same people were honored by the mention. Others saw this as a good way to measure their worth against the other shinobi without any need for a fight.

It soon became a tradition that the most powerful or instrumental shinobi of the village were mentioned in the Bingo Book. Furthermore, these names were even added in the Small Bingo Book: villages used the number of names and ratings coming from a certain village as a gauge of their overall strength.

The most important information besides the picture was the threat level. It basically consisted of a several ratings along with the various techniques or weapons the criminal used. From this info the threat level was assigned: it varied from "D" to "S". The rating was mostly based on three important measures being political, battle, and hazard. The first two being self-explanatory, the last one referred to the odds of the criminal or shinobi harming civilians or resorting to inhuman methods to achieve their goal.

"So basically, said Naruto, the fact that he's in the bingo book means he's very strong, right?"

"Basically, yeah," answered the chuunin; why he had even bothered with the long explanation was beyond him. "Thing is, it's hard to gauge the strength of someone through the threat level alone. So here, there's the Bingo book information on the scroll. Look at the battle power: it's rated "S", the maximum level."

Naruto nodded; so far he understood what Shikamaru was saying, even though he had no idea where his partner was going with this.

"For the sake of comparison, Orochimaru is also rated "S", just because of his "sannin" rank. That piece of info stuck in Naruto's mind and jolted it into gear. But that still wasn't enough to get a good grasp of the situation since he had barely fought the sannin, just his summons

"What about Kakashi then? What's his rank?"

"Frankly, I have no idea. I'm thinking anywhere between "A" and "S"."

"So what you're saying is we'll have a hard time beating him?"

"No: Kakashi would have a hard time beating him; what I'm saying Naruto, is that as we are, we'll be lucky to even hit him once before he totally destroys us."

The first thing that went through Naruto's mind was that the statement was ridiculous and voiced his opinion. Shikamaru shook his head and asked him a simple task: to apply what he had experienced in his fights against Kakashi and see for himself if he truly felt he had a chance of defeating him. The genin seriously pondered on the subject.

He remembered having some confidence when faced against the jounin for the first time. He had been galvanized by his success at knocking out both Ebisu and the third Hokage. How humiliating had been his lesson! His teacher didn't even lift his eyes from his book. Later Naruto had learned he had lost to a sluggish and totally out of shape Kakashi, which really upset him. He knew the current him wouldn't be able to beat Kakashi even if he unleashed his chakra like he did so many times before, and his captain would have probably gone easy on him too. He couldn't even imagine what would happen if he was confronted to someone of equal skill who wanted him dead.

A glance at Naruto told Nara that his comrade had at least understood where they stood and the odds stacked against him.

"Like I told you before, this is suicide. It would take months of training simply to think we have chance to make him break a sweat; you still sure you want to do this?"

The lazy chuunin knew he wasn't, so he expected the blonde to ask him for some time to think things through. What he wasn't expecting however was for his teammate to bluntly ask for the mission scroll.

"And what do you expect to do with that?" he asked, but knowing too well the answer to his own question he quickly added: "Actually no, don't answer that."

"Shikamaru…"

"I don't need to be a genius to understand what you're going to do when you get your hands on the scroll… Please don't be a hero; heroes die."

"Shikamaru, I guess for you this suicide, but for me it's a challenge – Fine, okay, it _is_ suicide." His response had been slightly altered by the way his new partner had cocked his eyebrow, probably thinking he was either crazy or an idiot. "Still, I wont' run away, and I won't give up, and I certainly will kick the ass of anyone that gets in my way even if it's that bastard Snake Face. That's my ninja way."

Now that he thought it through, the chuunin had to admit he was more than surprised by the will of his partner. For lack of words, Shikamaru conceded that Naruto was foolishly brave as opposed to being the brave idiot he had always thought he had been. He even startled himself when formulated the improbable hypothesis that Naruto _might_ have a small chance after all. He liked to call this phenomenon the Uzumaki Naruto effect: his confidence and bragging somehow had influence on other people. The genius couldn't really pinpoint exactly how or when Naruto had gotten that kind of charisma, but the results were palpable: people actually believed in him. Heck, look at him: he totally went out of his way to save him, and for what, he still didn't know. But then Reason and Hope entered a furious battle in his mind; in the end Reason – for which he was secretly rooting for – had mercilessly hacked the limbs out of Hope with a chainsaw.

He wouldn't give the scroll to Naruto and after thinking about it, found it didn't matter if he did so anyway: there was not one piece of info pertaining to Kohaku's whereabouts and knowing Naruto, he guessed he had no idea where or even how to get this kind of information. Not like he knew better, but at least he had an idea of how to achieve those things.

Telling that to the blonde proved useless though; he was itching for action, adventure and fighting; ninja stuff really. Despite that, the chuunin felt something was, well… off: Naruto desperately wanting to accomplish this mission simply baffled him. There must have been another reason besides Genta for the genin to face such little odds.

"You're not only doing this because of what the higher ups of Konoha might be plotting, or just because of your nindo; what's the real reason?"

Naruto stiffened slightly as he heard the question, but it wasn't so subtle that the chuunin's eyes couldn't pick it up. He tried smiling and came up with another reason but stopped halfway through. Shikamaru had seen through his fake smile and did not even listen to his new excuse.

"Sorry, Shikamaru, but I can't tell you that. I just… have to this, you know?"

"You just have to do this, huh?"

With that said, the chuunin got up. The blonde watched as Shikamaru fetched his bag in order to check is contents. He stood there for a while, looking at various scrolls and objects that were in the bag while smiling. Most of what was in the bag was training tools and documents. He recognized most of them; Shikaku had always tricked him into carrying those when he went on a mission. They both knew he'd never use those in his lifetime and saw the whole thing as somewhat of an inside joke. Needless to say the irony of the situation wasn't lost on him.

Having found what he was searching for, the lazy chuunin came in front of Naruto and before the kid with whiskers could say anything, he started to present himself interrupted here and there by the sound of his own bored yawns:

"The name's Nara Shikamaru and I'm from the Nara clan. I like clouds and the sofa back in my room. I also like things that are interesting. I don't like women, especially Ino and my mom. I don't like working too much either. I want to become an average shinobi sometime in my life. I want to have a wife and two children: a boy and a girl. After that I want to retire early enough and spend the rest of my life playing shogi. My hobbies are go, shogi, and I recently picked up something called "checkers". I also like watching movies and read books… anything that doesn't require too much effort."

"…"

"…"

"What the heck are you doing!?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm introducing my self; now it's your turn."

"But why are you doing this now."

"'Cause it's a good thing to do between teammates; we're probably going to head to our doom very soon, so might as well take the time to know each other until then."

"You mean…!"

"Yeah, I guess."

Naruto jumped out and couldn't stop yelling his satisfaction. It seemed the news brought immense relief to the boy so Shikamaru simply tried to shrug it off as he tried to protect his ears from the noise. When Naruto finally calmed down he introduced himself: it was kind of simple and included more ramen than the chuunin would have thought.

"So now what do we do?"

"The plan hasn't changed: were still heading for that village I talked about."

"Huh, But why?

"Info gathering for one, but most importantly to train; there's no way we're ready to face Kohaku Hyuuga as we are now, we'll train there for a month or two there, and then we'll look for him."

The genius was anticipated for some slight protest and had formulated some convincing arguments; what he got was even more approval and enthusiasm. To the genin training was always an awesome idea and he didn't have any of those for way too long according to him. Naruto had another reason to train though: he had found that physical activity was the best solution to a troubled mind and he desperately needed the distraction.

"Alright! Let's start training right now!"

On the other hand, the lazy chuunin wasn't ecstatic about having to work hard. He looked at Naruto and wondered if things would work out: while he was your everyday sloth, Naruto was a hyperactive brat, and while he had known that for quite sometime, it never got to a point where they actually had to work _together_. In fact, he had never worked with people brimming with energy before: Ino was pretty laid back if you didn't mention the name "Sasuke" in front of her; Choji had always walked at Shikamaru's pace – another reason why they were good friends; even Asuma was a lazy kind of person – sometimes even more than him.

In another set of ideas, he needed to get a grasp of Naruto abilities before they could even start training properly. Fortunately he had just the thing to start. He took out a couple of sheets from his backpack and handed one of them to Naruto along with a pen.

"This is a little test Captain Asuma had me pass along with the rest of team ten. Just write whatever you feel is your current level."

Fairly simple indeed, this "test" was really a stats sheet with blanks all over wating to be filled. Naruto quickly finished and handed the paper back to Shikamaru. The chuunin looked at the answers and then looked at the kid who had just written it in kind of annoyed fashion. He then took out his own pen, wrote on the same paper and gave it back to Naruto.

"So, that's what your overall level is? Not very impressive…"

"Actually Naruto, that's what I think your actually level is at least according to the two fights have seen; it seems you're overestimating yourself a bit."

"And what about you?" he said vindictively. "How come I don't get to see your sheet?"

"It's too much work filling all those blanks."

"What!?"

"Besides, it's not like you could suggest me anything for training anyway."

"Because you could, right?" was his sarcastic reply.

"You'd be surprised. Anyways I need to verify some of the things you wrote in your file to see if they're true: mainly about your chakra capacity and control."

"Whatever." He still felt a little dejected. "So, how do we do that?"

Shikamaru had Naruto climb up a tree and hang from it upside down until he dropped. According to his captain, a starting genin could stay like this for at least 15 minutes. The last time he had tried to do so he lasted 22 minutes while Choji could go for a half hour. Following Asuma's logic, average chuunin could hang upside down for at almost an hour and jounin even longer.

More than an hour had past and the only signs Naruto seemed to show was that too much blood was going to his head. Having Naruto continue longer was useless; most shinobi didn't even have half his chakra capacity.

After telling him how impressed he was, the young Nara asked Naruto to show him what he had learned about chakra control. The genin cockily showed his teammate the latest exercise Ebisu had shown him. This time his astonishment had been replaced by disappointment: Naruto's training in that department was not as good as he expected. While he could effectively stand on water, his feet periodically sank, so he had to readjust his chakra output all the time. That left trying to fight or even walk on water out of the question. Furthermore he still had to rely on hand signs to activate the control. Overall, his control was sub par.

When Naruto came back on shore Shikamaru asked what he thought was important to being a good ninja and what aspects he wanted to be better in.

"Of course it's all of those secret techniques and stuff. I guess hand to hand combat is also good."

"What about genjutsu?"

"No way! Don't need it.

"…of course. Last question: what's the first thing you do against an enemy?"

"I use the Shadow Clone technique and I try to hit him from every possible angle."

"Heh… I should have guessed. By the way, I saw you forgot to fill a blank. What's your chakra nature? Haven't you done the test yet?"

"Eh? What's a chakra nature?

"…never mind."

Now that he had done enough info gathering. The young Nara asked the genin to be left on his own so he could think things through. He mostly stood against a tree trying to figure what aspects of Naruto could train, which of those the demon fox container was actually willing to train and the means to do it. From time to time he would look at the various scrolls his father left him and he smiled when he found what he was looking for. It would take a while, but he'd make something out of him yet.

When Naruto came back Shikamaru looked quite content of himself.

"So you got everything you need?"

"I think so; ready to train?"

"Hmm… I think something is missing." Naruto was squinting his eyes in a familiar, yet annoying way.

"And what would that be?"

"A name, duh! Since we're a team now, might as well give ourselves a name, right! And a motto, we definitely need one of those. Rock Lee and Gai have that whole "springtime of youth" thing."

Shikamaru blinked a couple of times at Naruto before giving him a conceding smile. How ever short-lived this team would be, why not have some fun with while they were at it?

"How about something deep like "Sons of the wind"?"

"That sucks!"

"Yeah? Well I'd like to see you try to come with something better!" he said, a little ticked by his teammate tactless answer.

"Easy: "Naruto's awesome "A" team"!"

Shikamaru blinked some more before answering: "Like hell! Why would _our_ team bear _your_ name?"

"Okay, fine, Sheesh... I know, I know! How about: "Team Alpha" or "Team Zero"?"

"Nah," said the genius really getting into things; "not catchy enough."

"Oh! I got it: Team Oblivion!"

"I must admit I like it; it's sounds dangerous"

"Perfect. Now for the motto…"

"…Kicking ass and taking names."

"Awesome! But isn't that…?"

"Yup, that's what Soujiro says all the time."

"I knew it! That's a great idea!"

"So I guess we're done right?"

"Yeah; Team Oblivion is now Go!"

Shikamaru looked carefully at Naruto: he couldn't be more exited. He had to confess: that excitement was contagious. He actually looked forward to the training. Wait, scratch that! What he meant was that he looked forward to _Naruto's_ training. He couldn't stop himself from grinning

"Training starts tomorrow!"

"Alright!"

_**A new team his born! This is definitely the beginning of something epic!**_

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**A/N: … I like this chapter: it's so full of… something. Looking forward to the training. Btw, if you think you have a better name for them, please let me know.**

**Oh, I'll be using the advice I was given and I might tweak chapter 7 a**** bit. Expect the update to happen between this and the next chapter.**

***For those who don't know who Soujiro his… check back chapter 3**

**Bonus: If you want an idea of what the little test was about…**

**The first answer is Naruto's the second is Shikamaru's revision, third one is what would the Kyuubi's have been and the last is what Shikamaru**** would have written for himself.**

**Order: Naruto **_**/-/**_** Naruto (revised) **_**/-/ **_**Kyuubi enhanced Naruto **_**/-/ **_**Shikamaru**

**Global: A / C / A / C**

Power: A / C / A / C  
Speed: B / C / B / B  
Technique: A / C / C / C  
Stamina: A / A / S / C

**Style: A / C / B / C**

Ninjutsu: A / B / B / C  
Taijutsu: A / C / B / C  
Genjustu: A / D / D / D

**Chakra: A / B / A / C**

Molding: A / C / C / C  
Control: A / C / C / B  
Capacity: A / A / SS / C  
Nature: - / - / - / Fire

**Skills: A / B / C / A**

Info gathering: B / B / C / A  
Secrecy: A / D / D / B  
Deception: A / B / C / A  
Tactics: C / B / C / A*

**Overall: S / C / B / C***

***What Shikamaru doesn't know is that his real rank in battle tactics is "S" and that his Overall rank is "B" – the reason he became a chuunin. Shikamaru's revision of Naruto's stats his pretty accurate**


	9. Training

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**9. The First Mission: Training**

_**First up on the schedule of the new team? Training, of course!**_

It was a beautiful morning. Of course, it would be impossible to the average Joe to notice this from the middle of one the densest forests of the Country of Fire; the huge trees acted as such good filter that one could not see the sky, barely distinguish between night and day. By looking around however, an artist could be mesmerized by the harmony lush greens and vivid browns.

Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't an artist and beautiful forest bored him as much as waiting for Kakashi usually did. He had gotten up fairly early and had done a couple of exercises, wanting to be in shape when the training would start. But after an hour or so of trying to find something entertaining to do, he decided he couldn't wait anymore and tried to wake up his partner.

"Come on, Shikamaru; less sleeping, more training!"

For a brief moment, Shikamaru wanted to know why his mom wanted to drag him out of bed. She knew that it never worked; why did she bother today? But he stopped himself before asking something stupid. Whatever the stuff was he was sleeping on, it definitely wasn't his bed; so the probability that the person currently trying to mess with his sleep was his mother became nonexistent. He then remembered all the recent events up until today; that left no doubt in his mind about the culprit of the most heinous of crimes: trying to wake him up.

"Get up, man! I'm bored out of my mind, let's do something!"

_Damn! I should have mentioned the training would start tomorrow __**afternoon**__._

The lazy chuunin turned his body around in an effort to shun the boy next to him: with any luck, maybe Naruto would let him off if feigned being a heavy sleeper. The genin resorted to shouting, but Shikamaru had foreseen that option and simply shrugged it off. He was sure of his victory when he heard raging footsteps trailing off into nothingness.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru, he forgot that one Naruto strong points, if one could call it so, was his unsurpassed talent to annoy people. The blonde genin came back and from the sound the chuunin could make, he was now crouched next to him. The genius simply closed his eyes tighter; no matter what his partner would do, he was ready for him. It was then that he felt something poke his ribs repeatedly before proceeding to do the same to his back…

It didn't take more than thirty seconds before the annoyed sleeper suddenly turned around, savagely ripping the tree branch from the genin that brought it back with him. However this only seemed to please Naruto; there was now no doubt that Shikamaru was awake. He got up, and pointed a finger towards his teammate who had taken the time to sit up.

"Come on, you're awake now; training, training, training!"

"Shut up. You're annoying."

"By the way, that's some bed hair you have."

"…I hate you."

Having now no other choice now than to get up, the lazy chuunin did so and headed for the nearby water source. After the morning toilet he proceeded to tie his hair by using the river as a mirror. As he fixed his hair in a familiar upward ponytail, he gave his new attire a more careful inspection: he had to admit, his vest seemed to go rather well with the rest of his clothes. Too bad it couldn't come in other colors; not that green was a bad in anyway, but he didn't like having this much color, with him already having black pants and a grey shirt. His thoughts quickly moved on; fashion was on his troublesome list, partially – or totally – due to Ino's constant nagging on the subject.

More importantly, this vest was more obvious than having an "I am a shinobi" sticker planted on his back. He knew that common folk out of the hidden villages had little knowledge on ninjas, but even children at the ninja academy knew what this vest represented. He figured that giving the impression that he and Naruto were ordinary people themselves was a good way the avoid trouble and in the worst case, serve to confuse the enemy who was unfortunate enough to underestimate them.

He came back to the place where they had set camp and shoved his vest into the backpack. Naruto was carefully watching his teammate actions, always expecting the next one would lead to the start of some sort of training. When it looked like the fun would actually begin however, he started to doubt his new partner.

"Hum, Shikamaru? Can you really train me?"

The question annoyed the chuunin more than the poking previously had. "If you're not sure I have what's needed for this, why did you wake me up?"

"Ha… huh, I guess training is training right?"

"Eh, whatever. I'm not Kakashi or Asuma, so of course you won't get the best training. But I can do one thing better than they ever could."

"Really now?" said the genin squinting his eyes.

"I can show you your weaknesses and tell you what you need to work on."

This was enough to fire Naruto up with anticipation, but that quickly turned to anger when Shikamaru sat down again, going through his backpack.

"What are you doing now!? Aren't we supposed to be training or something?"

"Yeah, just this question then: what's the nature of your chakra?"

"…what's a chakra nature?"

The chuunin noted that it was the exact same answer he had heard before. He seriously wondered what he had learned at the academy; suddenly remembering that he hadn't learnt anything worth mention either. Most of what he learned came from his dad or captain Asuma. He thought about explaining the concept in depth but he remembered the Bingo Book and tried to keep things as simple as possible.

"What do you know about the elements?"

"Not much."

"Ok, let's start with that then. There are five principal elements: Earth Fire Water Wind and Lightning. They lie at the basis of most phenomena occurring in our lives. They're so important that the five most powerful countries are named after those elements."

"Ah… ok, and what does that have to do with me?"

"You'll notice that most offensive jutsus have to do with elements: Sasuke's fireballs or his new lightning techniques are a good example."

"Awesome! But wait, does that mean that I can't learn a technique if I don't have a chakra nature?"

"Well, you could say that; there are some elemental techniques that most shinobi can learn to perform even if they don't have the element in question, but they won't be able to master them or learn the more powerful jutsus."

"O.K.! so, in other words: they're important if I want to be a better ninja. Well in that case, isn't it better if I master them all?"

Shikamaru went on to explain how hard it was to master one element to begin with. The first element a student mastered was usually the one the shinobi was aligned with and therefore the easier to master; mastering a second element was so hard that even most jounin hadn't done so. Now in order for him to improve, one of the most pressing matters was finding Naruto's chakra nature since Shikamaru already knew his.

"So how do you do that?"

"Well, usually we use special chakra sheets to easily determine the affinity since it instantly reacts to the smallest sign of chakra nature. Unfortunately I don't any in my bag."

"Aw man! What do we do now? You're talking about all this cool stuff and I can't even learn it: this sucks!"

"Well, there is another method; I didn't consider it because it's kind of a hassle. But we have no choice, I guess."

"Alright! So, what do I have to do?"

First, Shikamaru had to make sure Naruto could draw out chakra around his hand at will. When the genin had reached satisfying results, the chuunin asked him to put his hand on the bark of a tree and release violent bursts of chakra through his hands. The genius looked at the results and concluded that demon container didn't posses a fire affinity; burn marks would have appeared on the tree otherwise.

Next they went by the river and found a spot where the current was almost nonexistent. Under the instruction of his partner, Naruto dipped his hand in the water and proceeded to draw out chakra like he had previously done with the tree. His teammate shook his head mentioning that bubbles would have meant the genin's chakra nature was water. The next target of his chakra bursts was Shikamaru: he would feel a shock if Naruto's affinity was lightning. The chuunin reluctantly offered his hands and felt relief when there was no trace of the unpleasant tingle.

"Well, up next is earth nature."

"Okay, what do I do?"

"Hit the tree with a chakra enhanced fist."

"…Eh!? Um, you sure about this?"

"Trust me."

Naruto wrapped his hand in chakra and punched the tree with all his might. The results were painfully obvious. The chuunin couldn't help but smile as he saw Naruto rubbing his poor hand."

"That hurt!"

"Of, course it did; if it hadn't, it would mean that you're also earth type, and seeing you already have a wind affinity things would get odd."

"Wait a second; we haven't even done the wind test yet!"

"Actually, we did: remember the first test we did?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Look at the place where you put your hand. It's not very obvious, but if you observe carefully, you can see small cuts here and there."

"Oh yeah, you can."

""Wind cuts", in other words, your affinity is wind.

"Alright!" He threw a fist towards the heavens with a victorious smile, but his expression quickly changed when he saw he bruised hand. "Wait a second! That means you knew all along! I punched that tree for nothing back there!"

"'Took you a while to figure it out. Anyway, that'll teach you to poke me awake." He replied with amusement.

"…I hate you."

Shikamaru explained Naruto that he would need to train in order to master his nature. While they were on the subject, the genin asked his partner what was his chakra nature since he used shadow jutsu. Shikamaru replied that some disciplines like medical technique and most of taijutsu did not rely on nature manipulation; the same could be said for his shadow biding.

Not wanting to dwell on the subject further – and admit his knowledge was limited on the arts of his own clan, the lazy genius lead his teammate towards a clearing and challenged him to a fight. The blonde was ecstatic: finally some ass kicking!

"But, there's a stipulation; no ninja arts"

"What!?"

"There's something I want to show you."

The kid agreed: it didn't change the fact that he was stronger than Shikamaru. The genin patiently waited for the signal to launch himself at his opponent. He jumped and threw a punch that was easily dodged. He landed near his target from where tried a missile drop kick that missed as well. He quickly got up and threw a flurry of punches and then mixed it up with some kicks here and then…

It took him around ten minutes of vain effort until he stopped to catch his breath.

"What's wrong? Tired?"

"Shut up and stop dodging, damn it!"

"Why? It's not like I enjoy getting hit, you know. Anyway, I guess you can see for yourself one thing you could work on: you rely too much on your clones when you fight at close range."

"… And that's a bad thing?"

The genius answered by telling Naruto that focusing too much using Shadow Clones resulted in him neglecting his own close range training. While this wasn't really a disadvantage due to his stamina, combat training could significantly improve his overall battle prowess.

"In other words, for an enemy that Neji, Kiba or Sasuke could defeat alone, you'd need three or more clones. On the other hand if could beat that enemy without using clones…"

"…I'd be that more dangerous _with_ my clones. I get it now! But you're not bad yourself to be dodging my moves like that."

"Well, that's _all_ I'm good at; I'm no better than you at attacking. I found learning the various combat styles to much work and asked captain Asuma to train me to be good at defense. Anyway, that's that for taijutsu; what are your known jutsus?"

Naruto's known jutsus were the Shadow Clone, Transformation and Summoning; he also knew the Sexy and Harem techniques, but Shikamaru didn't find them useful.

The chuunin was impressed; Naruto was a powerful shinobi without even knowing all the genin jutsus. He made a mental note to teach his partner the Body Switch and Body Flicker techniques when he could. He'd also have to teach a little about genjutsu but it would have to wait; for now what picked his interest was Uzumaki's trademark Jutsu. The skill had always intrigued him and now was a good time to have some of his questions answered.

"Naruto, how many clones can you make?"

"I dunno, I can make has much as want, but I can make about twenty without feeling like I'm wasting chakra."

"Didn't you say you summoned a thousand of them in your fight against Gaara?"

Naruto's mood darkened somewhat. "Back then I relied on the Kyuubi's power. I don't want to use his power anymore."

Shikamaru found wise to immediately return to the topic at hand. "So, hum… how do you control your clones? Do you give them orders like the normal Clone technique?"

"Not really, they kind of do their own things. I can give them a general idea of what to do at first, but after that what they do is fully up to them."

The news shocked Shikamaru. He never would have thought that Naruto's clone could move independently from Naruto's will. They were like summons in that aspect. The chuunin then asked how if Naruto knew when his clones disappeared. The positive answer made him conclude that his own theory about the Shadow Clones was totally false.

He thought Naruto's jutsu was an advance version of the normal Clone technique; the things he learned taught him the two techniques worked in completely different ways. Naruto obviously didn't realize this, but there was much potential behind the technique.

"Naruto, can your clones use jutsus as well?"

"Yup, that's how my Harem Technique works."

Shikamaru had a feeling he was about to make a great discovery, but he needed one last piece: how much information Naruto could get from his clones. He asked the blonde genin if he could have one of his clones follow him. Naruto wondered why but Shikamaru said it was a surprise and that the experience would be ruined if he knew what he was going to do. Naruto did what he was asked and the clone followed the Nara heir into the forest. When they were out of sight of the real Naruto, Shikamaru explained the process of the experience to the clone.

"So basically, I'm going to stab you with this kunai."

"What the Hell!?"

"Relax, it's not like it's going to hurt or anything."

"Oh, right. But why would you do that?"

"Don't worry; you'll get it soon. Ready?"

The Shadow Naruto agreed, and the next moment he was nothing but dust. The chuunin headed back to the clearing, looking forward to the results of his little trial.

"So Naruto, is your clone still there?"

"No, he's gone."

"What happened to him?"

"You… stabbed him with your kunai? What the Hell?" Naruto was surprised by what the chuunin had done; so much that he hadn't realized the real goal of the experiment or how amazed Shikamaru was.

"That's not really important. What's really important is: how did _you_ know?"

"…Ah that _is_ weird!"

Shikamaru quickly informed his teammate of his discovery: whatever the Naruto clones learned, it was also learned by the original. That made the technique very useful as a scouting tool and various information gathering missions as much as it was useful in combat; no wonder it was a forbidden Jutsu.

"Okay… but what does that have to do with training?"

Shikamaru thought about the best way to make Naruto understand before answering. "Let's say you had to write a sentence a hundred times, what would you do?"

"Well, I'd use my clones"

"Why?"

"'Cause two people writing at the same time things get done twice as fast. With a hundred clones I'd just have everybody write the sentence once and I'd be done with it."

"Exactly; well what you just learned does the same thing for your training."

"…huh?"

Shikamaru understood he had gone too fast for Naruto and tried again. "Let's say you have this awesome new technique you can learn, but for normal people it would take a hundred days to do so. Well in your case, if you trained with one of your shadow clones for a the result would be that same as if you had trained alone for two days; with three of you, it would be like you had trained for three days; with ten of you, ten; and for hundred of you…"

"I'd get a hundred days worth of training in one day…Oh, I get it now. So if use my clones, I can learn things super-fast. That's Awesome!"

The newbie chuunin asked for some time in order to incorporate Naruto's newfound ability into his new training. A half hour later Shikamaru came up with course of action.

The first thing Nara did was sent another message to Kakashi asking him to send some equipment to the village they were currently heading to. After that, Naruto's training finally began. His first task according to Shikamaru was to refine his chakra control to at least his own level. For that Naruto not only had to be able to walk on water without sinking, he also had to learn to channel his chakra without using the hand signs. After that, they would head to the village the lazy ninja mentioned where they would further their training.

According to Shikamaru's calculations it would have normally taken Naruto a month or two to reach this level of control. Fortunately, thanks to his extraordinary stamina and his Shadow Clones he was making incredible progress in record time. Meanwhile, Shikamaru had Naruto learn the Body Switch technique. He himself hadn't completely mastered the jutsu, as he still needed to do a hand sign in order to perform it, but for now this was the most useful skill he could teach his teammate.

By the time they finally left the forest in order to head to the village, Naruto was capable to perform the Body Exchange technique on short notice. He was also able to channel chakra without moving and had enough control to walk run and even fight over water. He hadn't enough time to revise his fighting methods but he and Shikamaru worked on some battle formations and tactics. He was even able to surprise the chuunin with some of his ideas.

As for Shikamaru, he did not train at all. He kept telling himself it was due to Naruto's training, but deep inside he knew he had just slacked off. He used the time he didn't spend watching over Naruto sleeping or reading his father's studies. Even if he read some of the training scrolls, he only had Naruto's development in mind.

The chuunin was torn between two thoughts: On one hand he was a little mad at Naruto; the kid had made training look so easy it was ridiculous. He was now a chuunin and Naruto was already way out of his league in terms of battle prowess. The genin still lacked refinement in the more subtle arts of the shinobi, like infiltration, but currently Shikamaru couldn't help but feel his teammate would make a better chuunin than him. He was jealous of his remarkable growth and even wondered if he shouldn't ask Naruto to teach him the Shadow Clone Technique.

On the other hand he was quite happy of the current development; if things went this smoothly Naruto would be doing all the work. All he would have to do was train him properly and maybe assist him here and there. Heck, he defeated and demon possessed kid with only half the abilities he had planned for him to learn. Maybe defeating Kohaku Hyuuga wasn't such a farfetched idea. He mentally slapped himself; of course it was a crazy idea; they were up against an S-rank criminal. But seeing there was a ninety percent chance that he was a close range user, maybe using this and that according to a certain formation…

In the end Shikamaru seemed to have forgotten one of the most important reasons he wanted to go after Naruto on this mission. He also lacked the motivation that pushed Naruto to always improve. Unfortunately for him, fate had just the thing to drag him out of slacking.

_**Promising start... for one of them, anyway! Be careful, danger is never far!**_

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**A/N: New chapter; Joy! Also, you might want to take a look at chapter 7 again; I tweaked it a little. Look forward to chapter 10: now it's Shikamaru's turn to do a bit of growing.**


	10. The Village

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**10. The First Mission: The Village**

_**Finally, **__**civilization! Time for break... or maybe not.**_

Shikamaru and Naruto were finally walking on a normal road. It was a welcome change from the tree traveling they had been doing from the start of their departure. They had finally left the country border. Vegetation was still present, but there was nothing taller than bushes as far as the eye could see. Still the fields were brimming with color, a sign that they were still near the rich soil of the Country of Fire. Far to the distance, the mountains of Konoha could still be seen if they turned around.

Nara's pace was a tad faster than usual: he seemed he wanted to avoid the company of his teammate, who was desperately trying to get his attention. His hands were held together behind his head, and a pronounced scowl betrayed his mood. Naruto attempted to appease his partner, a sheepish smile plastered on his face.

"Shikamaru…?"

"…"

"Come on, don't be like that! I said I was sorry."

"…"

"How could I have known anyway?"

Shikamaru finally snapped, judging that the last statement was too much. "How could _you_ have known that you_ already knew_ _the Body Switch Technique_? I really don't know… that's beyond me…" his tone was sarcastic and angry enough for Naruto to wince.

"Well… okay, let's say I forgot."

"…"

"Bah," said Naruto, feeling like pouting himself, "it's not like you wasted precious time either: you basically slacked off during all the time I was training."

"Well, it might be because I was going crazy trying to help a certain shinobi to learn a jutsu he _already knew_." The lazy chuunin hoped that focus on Naruto's blunder would throw him off the fact that he had been right on target about Shikamaru's activities. "If I had known that earlier we'd already be in the village right now."

"W-well, it's not like the time was completely wasted, right? I got better control than before…"

Shikamaru snorted, but in truth he was content. Naruto's chakra handling wasn't as good as his own, but he was rapidly going there. Before they had left, they had a last spar on top of the water. This fight allowed the use of tools and ninjutsu, but the Kyuubi host wasn't able to use them; as soon as he gathered chakra in order to perform a technique, he sank. This gave a huge advantage to Shikamaru who won using his Mass Shadow Biding technique. When the genin asked in awe how come he had so much better control than he did, he grinned.

At first, Shikamaru didn't think he had much worth as a shinobi besides his shadow skills. After spending enough time with his team, he had realized that even Ino, _a girl_, was better than him in the stamina department. Instead of trying to improve on his shortcomings – too much of a hassle, he opted to overcome his problem by strengthening his chakra control, which was already pretty decent. Not only did it require less work than working on his chakra capacity, in end the same result was achieved, which was to facilitate the use of the Shadow Biding skill more often and on longer periods of time.

Of, course Naruto felt obligated to burst his bubble by telling him that Haruno Sakura, a person he considered below her, was a control chakra freak. Needless to say Shikamaru had spent the remaining of that day sulking.

When the chuunin finally focused on what was in front of him, the gates of the village were only within a mile's reach. The town was much smaller than the Hidden leaf Village; still it was big enough to be considered a small city. Around the village many fields could be seen: it varied from cereals to fruits and vegetables. The fact that these fields were found outside of town proved that it lived in peace. It was quite a feat considering it was right between the Fire and Lightning countries.

The village itself was bursting life. Many kids could be seen playing which was always a good sign when determining the prosperity of a region. The inside structure wasn't as complex as the hidden village, but it wasn't like there was a need for that either. Various shops could be seen throughout the streets garnished with noisy buyers and window-shoppers; Naruto immediately spotted the ramen stand. Near the shops were the workshops and near the center of the town the inns and the residential area could be found.

The duo quickly realized that something was wrong; here and there were clusters of villagers nervously talking to each other. Shikamaru had also read from his father's notes that this town was pretty hospitable, yet he had not heard a word of greeting since he and Naruto had gotten here. Not to say they went by unnoticed however; as they walked towards the square, the pair had ample time to feel the various side glances and find them uncomfortable. The thing about these glances though, was they were filled with apprehension rather than suspicion.

Shikamaru didn't like the palpable tension residing amidst the townsfolk. He subtly told Naruto they were directly heading to the inn they were supposed to go and were staying there at least until whatever happened here subsided. Naruto was curious and silently objected, but the glances were seriously starting to creep him out and he caved in.

As they headed in the opposite direction, they were stopped by a tall chubby middle aged woman that suddenly walked in front of them. Naruto and Shikamaru gave each other troubled glances as the villager looked at them, focusing on every part of their body. She stopped at the blonde's forehead protector for a second. Finally recognizing the Konoha leaf symbol, she talked to Naruto.

"Please forgive my eagerness, but wouldn't be one of the Shinobi of the Konoha Hidden Village to the south west, would you?"

"Sure I am!" claimed Naruto, pumping his chest and fixing his already perfectly placed headband.

Shikamaru shook his head: he had forgotten about their forehead protectors. He wanted to pass unnoticed in town; his goal was to prevent them of being in even more trouble than they were already in. Looking at the relieved expression appearing on the woman's face, all the enthusiastic murmurs and the eyes brimming with hope, he already knew he had failed miserably.

"Oh! Thank goodness! We were just on our way to send a messenger to Konoha. You have to help us!"

"Hold on a second!" The voice belonged to man probably in his late twenties. He looked burly; from what he could see Naruto guessed he was a farmer. "Why should we trust these kids to be any help to us. I mean look at them: they're not even older than my eldest kid!"

Naruto already angered by the comment was ready to tell the man a piece of his mind, but as he stepped forward, Shikamaru's hand blocked his way. The chuunin had a smug grin on his face: he didn't want any part in the village's troubles but being called a useless kid by a normal citizen was an insult for any self-respecting shinobi.

"Oh? Care to tell me in what way does it prevent us of being good shinobi?" he asked nonchalantly. "Or maybe you're implying you'd rather wait a week for a messenger to go to Konoha in order to get the help you need; either way, we're already on duty so it's not like we're obligated to help you."

The effects chuunin expected to produce appeared sooner than he thought. People had started whispering very nervously to one another. It seemed the topics varied; Naruto discerned people talking about them, some were commenting on the urgency of the situation, most of them were condemning the beefy farmer's rude remarks – apparently, his name was Ryo. Eventually all eyes were accusingly fixed on him. Naruto was grinning: partly because the man got what he deserved; partly because the villagers had finally stopped watching them like they were some sort of freak show. Finally a smaller, older man stepped out of the mass and cleared his throat.

"We apologize; surely it was not our intention to insult you in anyway," he said as he glared the culprit into a confused state of shame. "We would be truly honored and relieved if you could lend us your assistance."

Naruto made an exaggerated but encouraging gesture and the old man continued.

"Well you see this village is at the mercy of a band of thieves: they suddenly came two months ago from the North and almost destroyed our town. We simply endured it and thought of rebuilding what had been destroyed, putting what happened behind us, but that wasn't meant to be: the thieves had not completely left; they established their base not to far to the east of the village and have been raiding us ever since."

Shikamaru was hesitant to give an answer. The more he heard, the less he wanted to get involve in this situation. He was especially wary of bandits; he had no idea of their numbers, not to mention the fact that could very well be missing nin. He finally decided that the only reasonable thing he could do is help them defend the village against the next raid. He was about to ask more questions to the person he deemed to be the village's mayor when he was interrupted by a shriek.

Moments later, a young woman came running to the aged man, desperation could be read on her face.

"Elder, I can't find my son; Toshiro is gone!"

"Now, Mayuri, he can't be far."

"No, I looked for him everywhere: he can't be found. He also said he wanted to go against the bandits. Oh, if they should ever gets their hands on him I-…"

This was all she could say before she burst into tears. She was pulled into the embrace of her husband who coincidently was none other than the burly Ryo. The man shot Shikamaru a very expressive glance. The chuunin in turn face the elder, asking him a physical description of the missing person. Once this was done he informed the man about his intentions.

"We'll go and bring the boy back; in the mean time send a messenger to Konoha. I have no idea what will be needed to face the situation but I don't want to be unprepared. Naruto let's…"

But when he faced the direction Naruto had been only moments ago, there was nothing other than villagers. A quick glance around confirmed his fears; he had already left. Shikamaru slapped his forehead out of exasperation before heading out east.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

To the east of the village was the coast. Sand could be found as far as the eye could see. A little ways to North, the beach made way for a small cliff. The cliff had a large opening; and that's where the thieves set camp.

The small camp was full of people; every one of them was busy doing something. Near the beach bandits were playing cards and telling jokes by a fire. Not too far from them a fight erupted between two of the more muscular looking ruffians. Some of them were sharpening their weapons while some were drinking themselves silly. From the looks of things the group wasn't very organized.

Above the activity a single shinobi was observing the scene with interest. From what he could see, there was about thirty bandits below, a number he felt pretty capable of handling. The observer tried to figure the best way to confuse his opponents. When he got his great idea, the ninja got ready for some action… only to be punched behind the head.

When the orange clad shinobi turned around in surprise, he saw an angry and exhausted teammate.

"That hurt!" he whispered, which surprised his interlocutor; it was the first time he had ever heard the blond say anything under a hundred decibels. "What's wrong with you; you look out of breath."

"I ran after two idiots at full speed."

"Hey!"

"Have you seen the kid?"

"What kid?"

From that answer, Shikamaru understood that the genin had left as soon as he heard the direction of the thieves' whereabouts. He explained the current situation to Naruto and asked again.

"…Must be that kid."

The chuunin took a look at the direction his partner's finger was pointing. There was a small child about a meter tall. From the distance, all he could tell was that he was a red haired boy wearing an oversized shirt so big it covered most of his black shorts. From what he heard from his mother he was named Toshiro, and from the way he simply waltzed in the bandits' lair he could judge that he probably had a hot temper and was very stupid, which contributed to make the palm of his hand reach for his forehead once again.

Judging he didn't have much time before the brat got himself killed due to a severe lack of reasoning skills, he quickly grabbed Naruto's attention and explained him what he wanted from him.

"Listen, what ever you were preparing to do, wait till you see me make a signal, got it?"

"Right, but what are you going to do?

"I'm going to rescue the kid." Before he jumped down however, he gave his partner a severe warning. "Naruto, the only objective here is to secure the brat and nothing else; don't try to take them on all by yourself. And don't try to do anything too reckless either."

"Roger."

The chuunin silently made his way down into the lair. Meanwhile the boy had enough time to announce his presence and was currently being carried by the collar of shirt, ineffectively trying to punch and kick is way to freedom. Shikamaru got closer: the kid wasn't crying or afraid, instead he seemed to be more and more furious as the thugs one by one noticed their guest.

"Hey, look what I found guys; a little rat came in to play."

"Let me go you damn Jerk! And gimme back what you stole from us."

"My, my, what a brave little guy! And it so happens that I hate courageous idiots, too," said one of the bandits.

Shikamaru knew that if the other outlaws got too close to Toshiro, it would make things too complicated for Naruto to interfere; another diversion was needed. Without hesitation, the chuunin quickly jumped out from hiding in order to kick the brat's captor. Since he came from the side, the thug never saw anything coming and was knocked out cold with a solidly placed hit to the back of the head, dropping the stunned kid. The chuunin grabbed the kid's collar before his feet could even touch the ground.

He lifted the kid until they he could look at him in the eye without having to lower his head and proceeded to start a conversation with Toshiro among the bewildered men.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"Shut up! Let me go," said the brat, still flailing his arms "…who're you anyway?"

"Your mom sent me to get you," the tone of his reply sounded like he was a simple babysitter coming to get a misbehaving kid.

"Not until I find my toy!"

"You're telling me that you came all this way because of a stupid toy!"

"…So?"

The chuunin let got of the boy, concluding further reasoning with him wasn't worth the effort. Toshiro landed painfully on his rear. Vexed by his savior's attitude, he got up and tried to kick his leg. The older boy saw it coming and dodged at the last second. The orange haired brat got carried away by the momentum of his own kick and once again landed on his butt. The child quickly understood that struggling would only become more troublesome – and painful, so he stayed put.

Meanwhile the thieves were still a little shaken by the apparition of the older kid who KO'd their second in command like he was a pushover. However, after noticing his age and the fact that he was all alone they soon gained enough confidence to think about eliminating the intruder.

Noticing the change in their behavior, the young Nara raised his hand for no apparent reason. He hoped Naruto would pick the gesture as his cue to join the party, but he still prepared his Mass Shadow Binding technique on the off chance that his teammate couldn't see him. Fortunately it wasn't the case: as his foes came closer they stopped in their tracks when they heard a voice yelling above them: "[Mass Shadow Clone Technique]".

When the thugs looked up, they saw that they were encircled by two rows of identical orange wearing kids. Before they had time to figure out how they had been surrounded so fast, the Narutos leap into the air. Amidst the orange mass covering part of the sky another shout was heard: "[Naruto missile bombardment technique]!" Immediately, each genin grabbed the Naruto next to him and threw him into the group of outlaws.

Shikamaru was impressed by Naruto's new technique. Sure, it was a waste of chakra when you thought about it, but it was a trivial matter in the genin's case. Naruto was surprised by the results himself: thanks to the chakra control training, he had been able to summon so much more clones which contributed in the jutsu's success.

And a success it was: confusion reigned on the new battlegrounds. Panicked brigands scrambled in every direction looking for cover as they were mercilessly assaulted by a rain of Kamikaze Narutos. Even when they missed their targets, the force with which the clones were hitting the sandy ground was strong enough to create a cloud of dust, adding to the general disorder.

The chuunin thought the time was appropriate for his great exit. He waited for the real Naruto to find him before they took the kid and ran in the direction of the beach. Their pathway was blocked however by twenty men or so, the apparent leader of the bandits at its head.

The trio quickly backed into the campsite, hoping to seize a chance to escape in the confusion. Unfortunately for them, most of the bandits were renegade soldiers. Once they had calmed down they focused their efforts on capturing the troublemakers. As they ran into the smoke, Naruto suddenly felt a hand grabbing his shoulder. Next thing he knew, he was pinned down by five mean looking guys.

Shikamaru turned around when he noticed that the blond wasn't following anymore. Big mistake: this moment of inattention allowed one of the pursuers to get close to him. This particular thug was wielding a huge club that he swung at the chuunin's head. It was too late for the chuunin to dodge; all he could do was drop the boy he was carrying and protect himself using both arms.

As the chuunin rolled on the floor, the smoke cleared. Naruto managed to raise his head enough to see his partner. "Shikamaru!" he yelled, but there was no answer. Fearing the worst for his companion the Kyuubi host struggled to break free, shouting and trying to bite. Meanwhile, one of the bandits threw a solid punch at Toshiro, knocking him down. Naruto's blood was boiling.

As he struggled he saw someone wielding a blade walk into Shikamaru's direction, mumbling about making sure the kid was dead. Seeing the potential pain his death could inflict Naruto, the men pinning him down raised him high enough so he could assist the execution.

"You bastards, don't you even dare! Shikamaru, move! Please get up!"

The thug's blade rose, then fell on chuunin's body; which was partly hidden by the other members of group wanting to see the show. His thoughts rapidly became less focused on Shikamaru: _Must rescue Shikamaru… must get rid of the people holding me down… must destroy the people holding me down… must destroy the people… destroy…_ then Naruto's mind went blank.

As for Shikamaru, Naruto's cries brought him back to his senses. He didn't know what he was doing on the floor or when it happened, but his blurry vision did distinguish a sword being menacingly raised. Fully awake now, the chuunin turned his body enough to dodge the lethal sword blow, ending with a small wound to his side instead.

His executioner was surprised that he had missed, but he was even more startled when he heard a loud cry sounding more beastly than human. When he turned around, he saw that the orange, annoying looking kid was gone, replaced with a huge storm of red. He looked around and noticed the people previously in charge of the blonde were on the floor unconscious, or worse. The last thing he saw was the red storm heading into his direction with blinding speed…

The now possessed Naruto was on a rampage. After taking care of his captors and Shikamaru's executioner, the Kyuubi was now attacking anything that moved. The panic such a display of brute power created was even greater than first one: by the time the demon kid had dealt with the sword wielding bandit, everybody ran away from him.

Shikamaru looked at the scene like he wasn't part of it. Naruto's transformation filled him with an awe mixed with pure terror. All around him he could hear things like "demon!" and "monster". It was the first time he had ever seen the blonde show this kind of savagery. When he stopped looking at the chaos, his eyes fell on Toshiro. The young kid had woozily gotten up, looking totally confused. The genius felt that the current Naruto might very well assault the kid in his current form and rushed to get him to safety. As he ran towards the pumpkin head, he saw from the corner of his eyes that the Kyuubi possessed genin had noticed the boy and was heading into his direction. Both shinobi dashed madly towards Toshiro…

Naruto finally regained control himself, feeling like he had just woken up from a bad dream. The first thing he saw was Shikamaru. He looked serious for a moment, but a smile appeared on his face. Naruto was relieved to see his teammate unharmed.

"You're alive! I thought they killed you."

"I'm happy to see you're back to your old self as well; for a second there I thought _you_ were going to kill me."

Naruto was confused by what his partner was saying for a moment. His confusion turned into horror when he took a look at his arm: his right hand was currently inside Shikamaru's body just below the shoulder. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably. The blonde was filled with disgust; unable to believe what he had just did to Shikamaru. When his gaze cam back to the chuunin he noticed that every shake of his arm resulted in a wince.

"Shikamaru, I… I…"

"You did a good job" he replied, surprising the demon container. "What I need from you right now is to not throw me a panic attack, so calm down. …good, now take out you hand, slowly."

The genin obeyed hesitantly. Each time he pulled back his arm the young Nara changed color, becoming ever so white. When he finally extracted his hand, blood poured out abundantly. Shikamaru sighed. The genin did not know if was due to pain or relief.

"Now we go back to the village."

"Wait, where's the kid? Let me carry him."

"I don't really think he'd want that after what just happened."

Indeed, Toshiro was behind Shikamaru, his hands grabbing onto his legs like they were some sort of lifebuoy. From the look in his eyes Naruto understood that the boy had not missed a thing of what happened. Shikamaru talked to the kid.

"Now kid, this is what happens when you don't stay at home where you're supposed to be," he said with a trembling voice. "You'll have to keep this a secret from the other villagers alright?"

The boy nodded, way too afraid of what could happen if he didn't comply. Before leaving the deserted campsite, Shikamaru made a makeshift bandage out of the few pieces of clothes left on the ground.

The trip back to the village was longer, mostly because neither Shikamaru nor Toshiro could move as fast as the genin or jump around so they had to walk along the cliff and move through the beach. Every movement the chuunin made was painful, making the walk much more of chore. As for the kid he wouldn't let go of lazy genius under any circumstance. Not a word was muttered during the voyage; all of them wanting to sort out the events they had experienced.

When the trio entered village, Toshiro ran directly to his parents, crying and mumbling incomprehensive things between sobs. Once again the shinobi pair found themselves surrounded by the villagers, this time cheers and thanks could be heard from every direction. Once again, the elder stepped up, this time to officially thank them for saving the boy.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about the thieves for a while now. We scared them away. They might be back though, so I hope you sent that messenger to the hidden village already."

The villagers couldn't hold their joy at that announcement. As they were celebrating however, Naruto heard a "thud" right next to him. When he turned around he saw his partner collapsed on the floor. The blood loss and his wounds, not to mention the exhausting trip back to the Village had finally taken their toll on the poor chuunin.

_**Shikamaru and Naruto are wounded, and in more ways than one! Can the team ever recover!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: The tenth chapter! Isn't this great? Bet you didn't expect Naruto would be the one hurting Shikamaru in the end, right? Anyways I think a tenth chapter is reason for me to celebrate, especially considering I'm a procrastinator at a genetic level. More training coming up next chapter.**

******Don't worry, this is the last time I'll mention this: I made a Jutsu-pedia. You can find it in my profile, should any question about a jutsu seen in this fic arise.**

**Btw: I mentioned this earlier, but I tweaked chapter 7 somewhat, but I didn't here anything about that... is the chapter still no good?**

**Mentions:**

**Blazing Demon: **the first reviewer of this fic. Believe it or not as short as was your review I keep re-reading it. Really motivates me.

**Paosheep: **because you keep writing reviews and because you're very encouraging.

**bleedingwrist: **because he used the word awesome in his review. Awesome = win

**adamrpg: **First criticism that got me thinking. Mostly because of the stories you suggested. Chunin Exam Day was Awesome! I'm going to read the others soon.

**RogerDering: **Gave me links to the Databooks**.**

**Review & Reply: I didn't have the time to answer to some of the reviews this time around so here it goes…**

**Rev: **Arbitrary question; do you plan to remove the seals on Naruto in this story anytime soon?

**Rep: **You mean the one Orochimaru gave him? It was removed by Jiraiya before the invasion day.

**Rev: **Aside from the Body Switch (Replacement) technique part (could've just focused on better utilizing it with clone switching 'a la' Kakashi bell test) and molding chakra without a hand sign which Team 7 only did due to the feet being difficult to mold chakra to and something that all shinobi can do even in the academy otherwise.

**Rep: **I'll just tell you that I have my own idea for the whole chakra theory so there's a reason Naruto's working on it. As for the Body Switch… well I guess this chapter could be considered an answer, no?

**Rev: **Also if the databooks are any indication, Shikamaru's Genjutsu should be C, if not B along with his Ninjutsu.

**Rep: **One thing I didn't mention in my reply to you was that those answers are based on what the character thinks of himself, therefore they're not necessarily correct.


	11. Resolve

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**11. The First Mission: Resolve**

_**Shikamaru's down and out! Meanwhile, in Konoha...**_

"So, let me get this straight, you captured the Nine Tails container, but you simply _let him walk away_?"

The voice came from a disgruntled Konoha council member. He calmly replaced strands of his black and silver hair waiting patiently for the hunter nin he had hired to explain their incredible blunder.

"Like hell I'd ever let one of my targets escape! Especially a small brat like that-oomph!"

The well placed elbow from his partner reminded Akira where he was and who he was talking to.

"My apologies, lord Genta. What I meant to say was that there is no way we would be careless enough to let someone in our custody escape. We were on our way to bring the target in Konoha but it seems the kid didn't really run away."

"Explain," Genta plainly ordered.

Ryuhi calmly detailed their encounter with Shikamaru. The politician was astonished by the boy's successful approach.

"Could it be that we were mistaken?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No… no; you did well" the council member was lost in his thoughts for a moment. "I'll be expecting a written report from you on my desk by next morning; Dismissed."

The hunter nin looked at each other before vanishing from Genta's sight. As soon he was sure they had vacated the area, the man violently slammed his fist on his desk. He couldn't believe how easily this newly promoted chuunin had turned this whole situation around. Those kids had now the upper hand, not to mention they were still backed up by the equally troublesome Copy Ninja Kakashi.

_Curse this stupid brat! He's becoming even more trouble than his damned father._

He heard a knock on his door. The esteemed official quickly regained his composure before signaling it was now okay to introduce his next appointment. The young man that came through the door was from a village between the country of Fire and Lightning. From his sources, the man understood that this specific village had always favored the services of the other hidden village; this made the meeting much more interesting.

The messenger explained him his current situation with the bandits that came from the North and the help they required. Genta asked why the village was asking help from the Hidden Leaf Village when it used to deal with the Hidden Cloud. Apparently they had already done so but the bandits had set posts in order to completely prevent them from entering the country of Lightning. What came next surprised him: they were debating on weather to send a missive to Konoha when a couple of young shinobi came in town and drove the miscreants away. At first they thought this was all over but they were told the thieves might come back, so at the request of the shinobi he had been sent to ask for reinforcements in order to permanently resolve the problem.

This situation was getting more and more of the Genta's attention: he wasn't aware of any leaf shinobi currently on a mission around this area. He asked for a physical description of the two ninjas.

"Well one of them really didn't look like a shinobi if you ask me; he was dressed all in orange. He had bright blue eyes and blonde hair. From how he acted, I'm thinking he isn't the brightest kid around. As for the other…"

"He's a kid about the same height as the first one with black pants and a white shirt and he looks like he couldn't care less about the people around him."

The villager was pleasantly surprised to learn the official knew these shinobi well; to him it meant they were probably one of the best elements the village had to offer. As for the president of the council, he hid his frustration behind a cordial smile.

"I see. I'm sorry but I must decline your offer; it seems you already have two of my best soldiers on the field. What I _can_ do however, is to give them the mission to stay and help you solve the problem since you seem to already be acquainted with them."

This answer satisfied the messenger. Moments later he left the room with a C-ranked mission scroll in hand. Genta snorted as the man left his sights. He had to admit the improvised team was handling themselves pretty well and that they had been useful since they provided him with new potential clients. Now only they could prove themselves even more useful by getting themselves killed…

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

The young villager responsible of carrying the message had left the gates Konoha. He headed for his cart, yet felt like he was being followed. When he turned his head to left he saw nothing. Reassured, he sighed.

"Perhaps you were looking for me?"

The man jumped when he heard a voice coming from his right. He turned around to face a silver haired shinobi. From his attire the villager could guess he was high ranked. The forehead protector of the newcomer was partially hiding his face, his clothes covering the rest. His eye didn't look menacing so the young man relaxed a little.

"Sorry if I scared you. It's just that I couldn't help myself from overhearing your conversation earlier."

The man was as surprised to learn that he had been spied on and impressed the ninja had the guts to tell him so openly. He was starting to question the ninja's motives though.

"Well, you see, one of the shinobi currently in your village his one of my students and he asked me to send him this backpack I'm carrying." The jounin was indeed carrying what looked like a normal backpack. "Problem is: I have a mission and the destination is in the complete opposite direction. Could you do me a favor and give him the bag for me?" Seeing the villager was still hesitating tried to be more reassuring: "If you don't trust me, you're free to check the contents of the bag yourself.

This was enough to convince him to agree. The Shinobi felt relieved. He gave the bag to the villager, who almost fell down after receiving it. The backpack was heavy; luckily he was quite strong since he worked on the fields. He looked back in disbelief at the silver haired man who had carried it so casually.

"W-what the heck is in that bag?" he asked while carrying it to his cart.

"Training equipment," he simply answered.

The man wasn't convince that any normal kid could train with the stuff he was carrying, but he did not push things further; they _were_ shinobi after all. He carefully placed the package on his cart and left without another word.

Kakashi was happy that he had spied on Genta today; it allowed him to send the stuff Shikamaru had sent on his letter to them without having to go there himself. Still the situation left him a little perplexed.

_I wonder why Shikamaru asked me to send him those things. What kind of training are they trying to accomplish? I just hope he knows what he's doing._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

When Shikamaru opened his eyes he saw nothing but bright blue. Of course it was blurry, but it was still weird: did he doze off while watching clouds? As his view became clearer however, he noticed that the blue was in truth the eyes of a blonde, orange dressed kid. He seemed overly excited, or was it that he was happy? He wasn't sure yet. A sweat appeared on his forehead; waking up only to find Naruto looking at you like you were some sort of food was not what he called an enjoyable experience.

"Naruto… would you mind… not looking at me like I was a bowl of ramen?"

"You woke up… finally."

The genius picked up too many weird things not to be alarmed: first he had no idea where he was; all he knew was that he was in a modest, eerily white room. Next, the impression he got from Naruto was that he had been sleeping for an extended period of time, but the most noticeable one was the information his ears were giving him; the room was quiet… _even though Naruto was next to him_.

"So… where am I? And how long was I sleeping here?"

"You've been in the hospital for three days, now."

The chuunin suddenly sat up in order to ask Naruto what was going on, but he was stopped by a painful sensation coming both from his left shoulder and right side. Naruto immediately moved in order to prevent his partner from hurting himself even more. The genius thought that his behavior didn't match his character, but they were more pressing matters; like how the heck he got a wound for example.

It was only when he looked at his shoulder that remembered. It all made sense to him now; the way his teammate greeted him as well as his reactions. He also understood Naruto wasn't hungry: he was probably very tired.

"Naruto… please tell me you've been sleeping these three past days."

"I did sleep… two days ago," said the genin with a nervous, yet sad smile.

A heavy silence ensued in which the two boys didn't even want to look at each other. They both lost in their minds, trying to figure out what to do or say, or even how to accept reality itself. The fact that they almost died didn't escape their minds and that one of them was partly responsible for that last part made things that more delicate.

In the end, Naruto felt he was the one who had to speak first: he needed to apologize for what happened. He could only hope Shikamaru would not consider him a monster like his _friends_ had. He probably knew about his secret, but learning about the Kyuubi and almost getting killed by it were two different things to say the least. He took a deep breath; the silence was steadily killing him. The sooner he spoke, the sooner the whole thing would be over. He took another breath in order to suppress the remaining feelings of hesitation.

"I'm sorry."

The blonde blinked several times in surprise; he was totally confused. He knew he wasn't brightest guy in the world, but he guessed _he_ should be the one to have said those last words, not Shikamaru. After all, last time he checked, _he_ was the one who almost killed him and the child they were supposed to protect, the thought alone of what might have happened still preoccupying him to the highest point. So why did he apologize?

"Shikamaru… maybe you're still a little light headed from all that blood loss," he finally said as he got up; "Maybe I should just…"

"Shut and sit down; I'm perfectly fine… if you count out the fact that I'm wounded."

Shikamaru didn't want to sound so harsh, but being treated like someone with reduced mental capabilities by Naruto of all people... this was beyond humiliation and Shikamaru had a bit pride… very well hidden under thick layers of laziness and indifference.

"But why apologizing to me then? That doesn't make any sense. I should be the one to apologize because…"

"You saved my life? I think that's quite an offensive thing to say.

"Damn it! I'm apologizing because I almost _killed_ you!"

Naruto said those words with a little more volume than he wanted resulting in yet another silence. Realizing he had said out loud what he had attempted to deny since they came back from that rescue mission, the demon container sadly bowed his head, afraid to look his teammate in the eyes.

The chuunin's eyes were fixed on Naruto, though. The poor kid wasn't even a shadow of the hyperactive brat the Nara was accustomed to. Of course he knew his partner would want to apologize after what happened. He had feared the accident would affect the genin, but not on this level: something had to be done. Once again Shikamaru was the one to speak up first.

"Listen Naruto, I want to make things perfectly clear: you did _not_ do this to me." Naruto looked up to Shikamaru incredulously. "The thing that tried to kill the kid back there was _not_ you; I know you enough to say without a doubt that you would never willingly lay a hand on a teammate. I am wrong?" The genin vehemently shook his head. Shikamaru continued. We both know _what_ attacked me."

"Yeah… but still, that thing is inside me. That means I should've been able to stop it."

"Do you really think you missed my vitals on purpose? The way I saw it, you clearly aiming for my heart; good thing you changed the direction at the last second. That counts for something, right?"

"Well, I guess so… I should've done better though."

"Give a break; you were fighting the freaking _Nine Tails_! You've got to give yourself some credit!"

"It's my body though; he shouldn't be able to control it like that."

Naruto had changed from morose to stubborn and angry – at himself. The chuunin concluded that it was better than nothing; at least the mood was lighter now. Still, this event could always turn into something good for him; he just had to use the right words.

"Whatever: you can beat yourself for what happened and mope around all day; you still have to do something about it. In a way I'm glad things turned out this way."

"Are you out of your mind!? Did you forget what happened?" You know, like you almost _dying_?

"Would you mind listening to me till the end?" said the chuunin, slightly annoyed. "I'm just saying that it was fortunate for us to learn about the Kyuubi issue this soon during our mission; this is something that should be taken care of as soon as possible."

"No duh! But how do you do that, mister genius?"

"I guess there's two ways to do things."

"Eh!? You mean you actually found a way to control the demon?"

The chuunin made a smug grin while his partner looked at him with interest. Naruto was curious and excited at the prospect of doing something new. More than likely that meant training, something he was always fond of. But most important; he was more like himself now, something that pleased the genius greatly.

The two methods proposed by Shikamaru were pretty obvious when he thought about it. The first one would be to train in the wilderness. He'd purposely draw out the demon chakra in order to master it. Shikamaru's theory was that eventually drawing the fox's energy would result in entering the state similar to the one he was in at the bandits' lair. From then on he'd simply learn to take control of this new power.

The option was tempting: if he could control this state enough to be to use jutsus, the possibilities would be endless. It did not enchant him though: he didn't want to rely on such a destructive and treacherous power. The fact alone that he had almost infinite chakra thanks to the Kyuubi was more than enough for him at the current time. Besides, this demonic form gave the opportunity to the people that didn't like him to operate easier. They could easily pretend they were defending themselves against the demon that had completely taken over Naruto.

"So what's the second option?"

"Become stronger."

"…That's it!? What kind of option is that?"

"The simplest one actually; you just have to be so freakishly strong that you won't need to rely on the Kyuubi anymore. With your clones that shouldn't be too hard."

"You know, that's great idea, Shikamaru! I'm going to become so awesome that even the Kyuubi will fear me. Alright, let's start training right now!"

The chuunin simply looked at him until the Naruto realized that his partner was in no condition to do any kind of activity currently.

"Oh, right, the wound. Sorry about that," he said scratching his head, a goofy smile on his face.

"Well, I can confirm you're back to your idiotic self. It sucks, but it is better than the totally depressed you, I guess."

"Hey, shut up!"

Naruto got up. He wanted to become stronger as soon as possible and before the wounded boy could even utter a word he bolted out of the room like his life depended on it. The chuunin looked at the scene a little confused before sighing. He mentally made a three second countdown. At "zero", the blonde had come back through the door and was now, panting in front of the young Nara. "Shikamaru" he said, but he was too out of breath to finish his sentence. His partner took the opportunity to make him sit down and talk to him before he had a chance to ask about training.

"Before you ask Naruto, I want to tell why I wanted to apologize."

Naruto remembered Nara's first words. He dismissed them as a delusion then, however Shikamaru had come back to it, which nudged his curiosity. Compared to what he had done, the young genin couldn't fathom a reason for his teammate to show remorse. So he had rushed back to ask Shikamaru why he needed to apologize; seems the pineapple haired boy was once step again, as usual.

"It's because I've been a lousy teammate."

"Huh? I don't get it."

"I used you. I thought that if I made you stronger I would be able to slack off."

"_That_'s why you were training me?"

"It's not like I didn't want to help you or anything; it's just… I don't like working too much, you know? But that almost got us killed."

"What do you mean? You did nothing wrong back there."

"You'd be more right saying I didn't do _anything_: period. You provided the distraction, you fought them off, and even when you went all demonic, I did nothing to stop you."

It was now the genin's turn to look at an ashamed partner. At first, he didn't understand what Shikamaru would be so down about. But then something came back to him: his first real mission. He was aware of the crisis the Nara was going through, and that made him smile a little; it seemed he was ahead of his teammate in some ways.

"Well," he said scratching his chin like he was in deep thought, "It's not like it's something you can ask forgiveness for: you have to make up for it."

"Huh?"

"I'm saying if you're really sorry, you'll have to become stronger. This is no time for mushy feelings and stuff: if you think you're weak, become awesome like me! Well… being as great as the mighty Naruto might be too hard for the likes of you but…"

The young genius had already tuned out the genin's gloating. He was trying hard not to smile; being taught a lesson by Naruto had something absurd about it. Shikamaru could confirm he totally sucked at morals, not to mention he was one of least recommended person for this kind of pep talk – wasn't he the one all down and gloomy only moments ago – yet he couldn't deny it was just the thing he needed to hear.

The chuunin interrupted the blonde's monologue in order to inquire about his wounds.

"The doctor said your wounds would fully heal in a month's time," said the kid, remembering what the medic had told him as he looked at the ceiling. "Until then, you shouldn't do any kind of heavy exercise. He also said you should be strong enough to walk around in a week or so." The boy sounded sorry for the bedridden Nara."

"A week," said the genius, already in deep reflection. "That's about right," he concluded; "Naruto we'll resume training in week's time. We'll train for a month here and we'll leave."

"Are you sure Shikamaru? You don't have to push yourself."

"Knock it off; you're dying to start, aren't you?"

Naruto remained silent and grinned; the Nara had seen right through him. The genin was relieved to hear that he wouldn't have to wait a month to have more of Shikamaru's training, but the news had triggered his impatience. Since it was already decided that they were going to train during the lazy shinobi's convalescence, why did they have to wait a week?

The genius was intransigent on the matter: They would start in a week exactly, furthermore he didn't want to see Naruto until then or he would delay the date that already seemed so far away for the genin. He didn't understand why Shikamaru wanted to be alone for a week, but that meant he'd have nobody to talk to until then. Now not doing anything, he could handle: the long hours he had spent waiting for his teacher were good practice, but doing nothing _and_ stay all by himself? That was out of question; it had to be one or the other.

"Come on, man, can't you at least give me something to do for the week?"

"Well I guess I could. You'll keep training your chakra control."

"Aw man! Boring!"

"In the mean time, I want you to have your clones fight each other."

"You mean you want me to fight against my clones? Cool!"

"No; what I want you to do is to make your clones fight. You are forbidden from fighting yourself, got it?"

"What!? How's that suppose to be training?"

"Heh, that's for you to find out." The black haired kid let out a knowing smile.

"That's unfair. Explain!"

"Ow it hurts," said the chuunin faking deep suffering. "Maybe it'll take longer for me to recover if I talked too much." He coughed a little.

The kyuubi host realized clearly that this was all an act, but understood that the genius wasn't kidding when he threatened him to delay the date he would start to train seriously.

"Fine, fine," said Naruto as he rolled his eyes. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving." He stuck out his tongue at his partner and left.

Shikamaru sighed; the next week would be very boring. Unfortunately he knew both Naruto and him needed time alone to sort things out. He contemplated the ceiling for a while. He missed the clouds. He also missed his best friend. At the rate things were going though, it would take a long while before he saw either.

"Life sucks!" he said before dozing off.

_**The team splits for a week: the recovery starts here!**_

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**A/N: New chapter. Hope you enjoy. Sorry I didn't update earlier. It's just that my P****C nearly died on me... Anyways you'll be glad to know that there's about five to ten more chapters until the end of this ark.**


	12. Recovery

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**12. The First Mission: Recovery**

_**Each on their own: what will our heroes be doing during the week?**_

Naruto's first day of training had gotten fairly well considering he was finally able to use his chakra for something else than staying afloat. He still didn't understand what Shikamaru was getting at with that new training of his though, which kind of depressed him. Unlike most people thought of him, Naruto enjoyed learning; it's just that he was a little on the slow side. He still did exactly as he was told however, and had his clones duke it out amongst themselves one on one.

Naruto didn't see the need to stay and watch a fight of which he already knew the outcome – of course he'd win in the end: he was fighting against _himself _– and so he tried to come up with new techniques and new moves on his own. When that didn't work he tried to summon a toad with his new found control. The results were frightening; before him stood a summoning at least half the size of Gamabunta. The beast wore samurai style amour and had a gigantic bo staff for weapon. He looked around for awhile, and when he made sure no one else was in vicinity slammed his staff at Naruto's direction. The shockwave sent the poor kid to the floor.

"You the one who called me kid?"

"Y-yeah, yes sir."

"Next time you call me for absolutely no reason, I'll kill you, got it?"

"W-wait a second here," said the blonde after recovering from his initial shock, "You can't do anything to me; I summoned you, I'm your boss!"

Naruto had a gut feeling he had said the worst thing possible in this situation. He remembered too late how susceptible the big toad boss was. The warrior toad blinked several times before lowering his head in order to take a closer look at the fool who dared proclaim himself "boss". He starred intently at the genin before asking, with a hint of concern.

"I'm sorry kid; it seems I was too high up for me to hear you: want to repeat what you just said?"

"Ha ha… I said: you might not want to hurt me because I'm friends with your boss?"

There was a silence. The summon slammed the tip of his staff near Naruto: the huge chunk of metal was only a couple of inches from his face. He renewed his warning and disappeared, leaving the blonde with the firm resolution never to summon for the sake of practice ever again.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Man, I'm so bored!"

Naruto was calmly walking towards the village, his hands behind his head. The training session left him with a cold sweat, yet satisfied nonetheless: this was huge improvement over the small toads he used to summon. He wanted to train all day or at least until exhaustion, but his stomach protested loudly. He wasn't smiling as he entered town; he didn't like how he was once again the center of attention in the village. Everywhere he could hear whispers and see the glances of the villagers; only this time they weren't even hiding it. Of course they were all grateful for what he had done for them, and some of them even greeted him and offered him presents, but that only directed his thoughts to Shikamaru.

He looked for a stand that would sell ramen and ordered two bowls. The owner gave him a huge discount for helping the village and told him he was welcomed in the establishment, a gesture that would significantly increase his revenue for the month to come. It was while he ate that he felt truly alone; since he became a real shinobi, not once had he eaten lunch alone. Most of the time he ate with his team or his old teacher, but he also ate with team ten and Konohamaru. Even when he went there by himself, he could always count on Ayame and good old Teuchi for company; now he had to eat alone and in silence not to attract unwanted attention, an experience he did not enjoy in the least. Silence forced him to think, and his current thoughts were as depressing as depressing could get.

He was working on his second helping when he felt like he was being starred at. Considering he was practically a walking eye magnet it shouldn't have bothered him, but the fact that he did notice it among all the others was worth the attention. He turned to his left and saw nothing. He knew it was coming from that direction so he kept looking. When he finally lowered his eyes he saw the one thing he didn't expect seeing: it was a kid looking at him.

Only, it wasn't any kid, it was _the_ kid: Naruto couldn't remember his name, but he knew one thing; if it wasn't for Shikamaru, he would have killed him. The blonde wondered why the little boy was here: in the same situation Naruto wouldn't have been caught within a mile radius of a monster that almost killed him… which did nothing to lighten his mood. Another odd thing: even though the genin had spotted him, the kid was still there. Sure, he had averted his eyes when he noticed Naruto was now looking at him, but he hadn't fled or anything.

The Kyuubi host decided to ignore him and see what would come of it. Not a minute had past that the kid faked a cough in order to get his attention. Naruto, who had nothing to do at the moment, ordered yet another bowl and turned around in order to face the kid. Now having his attention, the kid timidly cleared his throat.

"Hum, mister…?"

Naruto flinched. "Hey, kid, don't call me "mister", I'm only thirteen years old. Call me Naruto," the blonde said as he stuck a thumb on his chest.

"Ah… mister Naruto," the genin sweat dropped, "My mom told me to thank you for saving me." He bowed.

"It's nothing," he said evasively, trying to hide the pinch of guilt he just felt, "'just doing my job. Anyway, what's your name?"

"M-me?" asked the boy a little taken by surprise. "I'm Toshiro, sir."

There was a silence during which the boy stared at the floor and started digging with his feet. Naruto figured he had something else on his mind. "Something else on your mind, kid?" he asked. The kid became even more nervous. He fumbled his words for a while before finally asking: "Do you… eat kids?"

The genin blinked in surprise, then smiled reassuringly, trying to hide his real intention. The kid started to relax. Toshiro really was an innocent kid, which was why Naruto was dying to pull a prank on the gullible child.

"No."

"…Oh"

"I prefer ramen. I don't mind eating them when they're naughty, though"

Naruto waited for the kid to turn completely white and gulp before laughing out loud.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I never ate another human being in my life. You had to see the look on your face though: priceless."

"Not funny," said Toshiro, still trying to calm his nerves.

"Well, you're the one who asked a stupid question. Anything else?"

"Yeah, I was wondering: where are your other brothers?"

"Huh, my brothers…?" Naruto then understood the kid was talking about his shadow clones. "Oh, those weren't my brothers, they were just clones." As he said that he made two clones. Both of the waved at Toshiro and stroke a pose before disappearing.

"Wow, that's so cool! How do you do that!?"

"Sorry, but I can't tell you that: it's a ninja secret, you know."

"You're a ninja!? Awesome!" Toshiro's eyes sparkled like jewels. "Oh, oh! Can you show me your weapons? Can you show me how to disappear, huh, huh?"

"Well, I'm kind of in the middle of training…" he said, playing hard to get.

"_Please_?"

"Fine, you win, come with me."

"Alright!!"

Suddenly Naruto thought the week would go by pretty fast. He spent the rest of the day showing off in front of Toshiro and playing ninja. Naruto liked to look cool and the kid was easily amazed; a match made in heaven. When the sun started to set and Toshiro had to go, the kid wanted to clear out any misconception about Naruto.

"Hum, mister?"

"It's Naruto!" the blonde snapped.

"Oh, right! Mister Naruto, there's one thing I don't get."

"… What is it?"

"What happened when you tried to rescue me?"

The blonde froze. He had no idea how to explain the Kyuubi to the kid. He didn't want to scare him either; they had just gotten to a good start. He tried to come up with something on the spot.

"Well, it's hum… a very special jutsu."

"Really!?"

"Yeah… it's so special only a few people in the world can do it. I myself only know one other shinobi with the same technique." The genin could see that his lie was working so he continued. "The problem is: I just started learning it, so I can't control it at all."

"So why'd you use it, then?"

"Cause I didn't have a choice: we almost died in there."

"Oh… well, OK. See you around, mister!"

"IT'S NARUTO!!"

After he left, the demon container resumed his training until it was too dark for him to see. He then headed back to the village where he looked for a hotel. He went to the cheapest hotel he could find and rented the cheapest room he could get.

The next morning, Naruto head out to train after breakfast. The session went pretty much like yesterday, minus the giant toad. When he went for ramen however, he found not only Toshiro but a group of his friends as well. They played more games and had more fun than the last day. As for his training, he was finally able to use the full extent of his power on top of the water; he even came up with a new chapter of the "Naruto Chronicles".

By the third day, Naruto was the most popular guy among the kids. He couldn't walk a street without being chased by a child wanting to play with him. The games had even escalated to a full make belief ninja war. At first Naruto couldn't play: he was called "an unfair advantage". Since he was dying to participate however, they made a compromise: he had two clones participate in the war, one on each side; they were dubbed the "hero" for each team and could only fight the one another.

In the end, it still meant that Naruto would be watching in the sidelines. He was a little dejected but couldn't anything about it. He knew that the only thing remotely interesting would be to watch how his clones would duke it out. They were on a battlefield of their own, not far from the children so that the soldiers that had "died" could come and cheer their "hero".

At first he found nothing interesting; they were doing the same moves he had always used after all. As he kept watching, however, he felt that they was a certain pattern to the fight; which ever Naruto tried to strike first missed, leaving him at the mercy of his assailant. He reminded him of his fights with Kakashi and Rock Lee. Both fights were one-sided because his movements were too wide and too predictable.

Thus, Naruto finally learned the meaning of "being full of openings".

After the ninja wars, Naruto kept watching how his clones fought in order to mentally correct them, and by extension himself. Once that was over, he dispelled the clones and made new ones. Once again they fought each other, only this time there was a slight improvement: Knowing that each strike would leave them open, the clones tried to throw feints while fighting. This made the fight much more interesting. Naruto then beamed: _So that's why Shikamaru wanted me to do this_.

This week definitely started to be more and more interesting.

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"Man, I'm so bored!"

Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh. Two days had gone by since his talk with Naruto. All he did until now was sleep in order to regain his strength. The room had changed during the times he spent sleeping: it was still the same white hospital room, but now it was neatly decorated with flowers. The genius guessed this was from the various villagers that came to thank him: a good thing he was sleeping then.

He slowly tried to sit on his bed; he wasn't in as much excruciating pain as he had feared. He gritted his teeth and walked towards a chair which held his backpack. He dragged to bag with him to his bed. Unfortunately, he had overestimated his strength; unable to walk anymore he felt the wound on his right side reopen because of the load he dragged. He let go of the bag and tried woozily to regain his bed; thinking he'd finish the job another time. He was only a couple of feet from his target, but he lost the control of his legs. He cursed mentally as he felt himself falling down; such a fall would greatly postpone his recovery, if he didn't die from the pain that is.

He felt a sharp pain by his ribs sooner than he expected. When he opened his eyes he noticed his arm was around the shoulders of a nurse. Shikamaru was carried back to his bed where he laid down trying to heroically withstand the pain that had now reached the other wound. He took deep breaths waiting for the pain to subside. After a while, he was finally able to relax.

He turned around; the nurse was still there starring at him. She had every trait of a worried person. The genius could even noticed a single shed tear as she was sitting near him, her hands firmly grasping her white robe. Shikamaru had the impression she could burst in tears any second.

"Hey," he finally said, not without effort, "are you alright?"

"Idiot… idiot, idiot, idiot; I should be the one asking the question!" she said, wiping her tear.

"Could be better," he let out with a sigh.

"Do you have any idea what would have happened if I wasn't here?"

"… I'd be sleeping on the floor, I guess."

"…Idiot."

The nurse seemed like she was genuinely concerned about Shikamaru, which was odd: he had no idea who she was and was pretty sure the same was true for her. Another interesting point was that so far she hadn't shouted or tried to hit him; definitely a welcome change from most of the female characters he knew.

He took a closer look. From what he could see she was fairly young, but since she was working as a nurse she was at least sixteen. She had brown long hair almost reaching her waist. Strands of hair were partially covering her face giving her an almost mysterious aura; however the boy thought it didn't match with her worried look. She was slim and from what he could see she was taller than him. Nice looking figure with an even prettier face, innocent, almost like that of a child. One thing was sure though, she was beautiful; even he could see that; not that he cared though.

"What were you doing, you're not even supposed to be able to move; the pain should have stopped you."

"Ah, well I needed to get my backpack." When she kept starring at him he explained himself. "I'm trained to be able to withstand a certain amount of pain: it's part of the job.

She blinked for several seconds before pretending she hadn't heard that last part. "You could've asked: I'm sure any of the nurses would be more than honored to bring it to you."

"…Honored?"

She beamed. "Of course, you and your friend did save our village after all."

"Is that why you're so worried about me?"

"Oh… that…"

Her smile became more nervous as she looked in another direction. She explained her problem: she was naturally very empathetic, to the point that during her childhood she'd cry whenever somebody was hurt. "And you became a nurse?" asked the chuunin, thinking she definitely wasn't shinobi material. The genius figured one of the requirements of a nurse should be empathetic concern as it would help their performance towards the patients. Having too much empathy could have the opposite effect however, as a nurse would be able to create too much attachment to a patient, and nurses had to behave professionally. The girl lowered her head, admitting most of her patients had asked her the same question when they saw her cry.

"Well it's not like it's a bad thing; at least you won't be troubled treating patients with, let's say a bad temper. And if you're able to control your emotions, you'd be a better nurse for it."

The brunette looked at Shikamaru in disbelief before answering with a smile "You think so too? That's exactly what I told my mom." She took another glance at the young boy in front of her. "Hey, you're pretty smart for your age."

The young Nara didn't answer. The conversation started to bore him, so he looked out the window.

Her expression became more inquiring. "Where is he, anyway? Your friend I mean: the last three days he wouldn't leave your bed and now…"

"Naruto?" the nurse had gotten back his attention. "He's off to train somewhere. All he wanted was to make sure I'd be fine."

"Well won't be fine at all if you pull another stunt like that, you know."

"Anyways, since you're here, mind bringing me my backpack?"

"Why you…! You still want your bag after all that happened?"

"Gimme a break here; I'm bored out of my mind!"

"Well, I won't do it," she said after snorting. "Next time think about asking before doing something so stupid, mister...hum"

""Mister"? Come on, I'm not even eighteen. My name's Shikamaru Nara.

"Ah, sorry about that Shikamaru. And I read your name in the medical profile only a couple of minutes ago, too. My name's Megumi Yagani."

She got up he headed out of the room.

"Ah… one more thing…"

"What?"

"You might want to do something about your hair."

"What wrong with my hair?" she asked a little annoyed.

"Nothing, but it's hiding your face; and you have no reason to hide it."

Shikamaru wasn't looking at Megumi when he made that remark; for him it was a simple observation. He even had his eyes closed; a good thing too, or else he would have seen her face become crimson before she darted out of the room. Soon after she left, the shinobi fell asleep.

He woke up much later. When he looked outside he noticed that the sun had set a long time ago. When he looked at the chair where Megumi was sitting, he noticed his backpack was there. He smiled as he slowly and carefully reached for it. In his Nara custom made bag were two sections. One contained training equipment along with some notes; the second one had clothes. The second section had a secret compartment containing various herbs, some pills, and a very slim notebook.

The chuunin took out the stash of herbs and after looking through it, picked out one to eat. Has he carefully ate the plant, taking time to slowly masticate, he made a grimace; the herb had an incredibly bad taste. He made sure he had eaten the right medicine by checking in the notebook and relaxed. After an hour his pain had completely vanished.

He picked notebook and quickly skimmed over it. He then took various herbs and put the rest into his backpack. The notes had mentioned that the herbs had to be mashed and mixed together in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. Seeing he had nothing to mix the medicinal herbs with, the genius gritted his teeth and proceeded to chew the plants until they were in the acceptable condition. Once that was done, he spat out the mixture and spread it on his wounds.

Having done all he could for his wounds, Shikamaru decided to read the training notes his father had left him until the painkiller he had taken lost its effect. The notes contained various theories on chakra and its uses, some medical jutsus and offensives jutsus and basic genin teachings. The genius did not even give a second look at the medical techniques: he knew both his and Naruto's chakra control were from a level where they could attempt any of them. He focused on the theory and genin exercises.

Once he knew which exercises he had Naruto do in order to improve he tried thinking about himself. He knew for a fact the training he had planned for Naruto wouldn't work. It wasn't only because of what he dubbed "the clone training" technique; their strengths and weaknesses along with their personality… everything about them was different. It was clear that the same methods or the same regime wouldn't work for him. First he had to find out _what_ he wanted to become and what he could learn in order to help not only Naruto, but any person that would eventually team up with him.

The one thing he definitely knew was that he wasn't cut out for taijutsu and that dodging was more than enough for him. He could probably be decent in the genjutsu department if the need arose, mostly because genjutsu played relatively well with his analytical skills; deception was definitively part of his game and genjutsu was simply taking that one step further. That didn't grab his attention though: he had learned to defend against them and that was enough for him at the moment. That left only ninjutsu. Somehow the answer didn't surprise him.

Next he had to think about what other traits he ought to work on. Knowing himself, he knew that the more tools he had to work with, the more dangerous he'd become. Even if learning and perfecting his ninjutsu was sure to give him more to work with, he needed something else to rely on. He opted for seals. Those didn't need that much effort except for studying them. It also helped that seals were one of the few subjects Shikamaru found interesting.

Soon after his introspection, the chuunin felt the pain was slowly starting to come back. He took out a pill from his backpack and put the bag back on the chair. Shikamaru knew the medicinal mixture he had put on himself worked wonders, the only problem was that this was incredibly painful, the only thing he could do about it was to sleep through it. That's where the pill he had in his hand came in: it was a powerful soporific. With it he'd probably sleep through the next day and then some. He quickly swallowed the pill and got to sleep before the pain became unbearable.

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The chuunin woke up to the pleasant feeling of sunshine on his face. He yawned and opened his eyes to look outside. From what he could see, it was morning.

"Good morning Shikamaru."

Shikamaru snapped his head to the left. Sitting on the chain was Megumi. She was peeling an apple. The boy noticed there was no longer any hair covering her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Her answer somehow reminded the shinobi of his mother.

"Sorry. Hi. How are you this morning? I'm fine as well. Now that the banalities are out of the way: why are you peeling an apple in my room?"

"Seriously Shikamaru, that's a mean thing to say. Here I was worried about you: you slept all through yesterday, you know that?"

"…Is that why you're peeling an apple in my room?"

"Well, we were worried so we tested your blood and found it contained a sleeping drug. Since it was harmless and you needed to rest anyway the doctors decided to let you sleep. I guess I or one of the other nurses must have left a pill here while we came, but seriously, I thought you'd be smart enough not to take anything lying around. I guess I'm peeling the apple as a way to say I'm sorry."

"Well don't be: the pill I took was mine."

"That can't be! I already checked your backpack and…" she stopped when she saw the perceptive look the chuunin gave her.

"I figured you guys would go through my stuff, that's why I hid it."

The nurse laughed nervously as the young Nara tried to feel his right side. As expected, the pain was almost gone. He turned around and got up. Megumi protested but she stopped once she saw him walk without problems.

"That's…impossible! You're already healed!?"

"I'm far from cured," replied the chuunin, "it's just that I can't stay here if I want to recover as fast as possible."

"What!? I'll have you know that this hospital is…"

"Not adapted to my needs. If you hadn't noticed yet, I'm not exactly the most normal of kids."

"Oh…" she said lowering her head.

The boy assured her he'd be fine before asking her to leave the room. Once he had changed in a proper set of clothes, Shikamaru went to the front desk and asked to be discharged. After a check up from the doctor, he took his belongings, personally thanked Megumi for her care and left the hospital.

The young Nara was far from healed. The left part of his body was in constant pain, and it was hard for him to move his left arm. On the other hand, his second wound was practically gone. As he was now he needed two things: to find a place to sleep and to hasten his recovery. Incidentally, he knew a place where he could do both.

_Now, where is that Pharmacy…_

_**So far so good. Let's hope the rest of the week goes as smooth as this.**_

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**A/N: New chapter! Enjoy. I know that you didn't get to learn much of Shikamaru's training, it's coming next week. Sorry for the late update, I didn't have time to proofread this yesterday.**

**Tidbit of info: Megumi wasn't part of the chapter. Actually, she wasn't even part of the fic: it's like one of those "spur of the moment" things. Now that she's there along with Toshiro though, I want for the team to come back here again… oh well.**


	13. Growth

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**13. The First Mission: Growth**

_**The week comes to end... the reunion of our heroes draws near.**_

Along with training equipment and medicine, Shikaku Nara had left his son with a map of the country of Fire and its surroundings. The particularity of this map was that all the towns mentioned were in business with the Nara clan, mostly for the deer horns. The clan was made famous foremost by their deer tending because their horns were ingredients for many powerful medicines. But that wasn't all; the medical knowledge of this clan was almost unrivaled. That fame made them valuable partners for anyone attempting to enter the health industry in some way or another.

This town figured on this map and that's why Shikamaru had chosen it for their sojourn. He knew his father liked to make things simple, so he thought Shikaku's connection might be at the pharmacy. He didn't have to search for long: the building was right behind the hospital the genius had just left. When he got there, he saw various familiar medicines, the trademark deer horns among them, only confirming his hunch. Something was felt out of place, but he quickly dismissed the thought; he had more important things to do.

He asked to see the one in charge. At first he was refused, but when he mentioned he was the one who resolved the bandit incident, an arrangement was made. Moments later the young genius was introduced into the director's office. He asked a couple of questions concerning the various medicines and ingredients. The man was surprised by his knowledge, but answered flawlessly. The young Nara, knowing only his clan's business partners could have answered those questions took out a pen and paper out of his backpack, wrote up a list of ingredients and gave it to the man.

"I'll need all of those."

"What!?" the man kept looking at the paper. There were various herbs and medicines; all of them were costly." The amount money he would make of this transaction was enough to make him blank out for a moment.

"And how are going to pay for all that? Should I make a note or…"

"I don't think we quite understood each other: I'm not _buying_ these; you are going to _give them to me_."

"…"

"Oh, I'll also need a place to sleep for me and my friend."

"…That was… real funny," he said, trying not to lose his temper. "You might be a hero in this town, but don't expect us to answer your every whims, boy. So, is that all, before I kick you out of my office?"

The chuunin grinned; he was going to enjoy what was coming next.

"You… have absolutely no idea of who I am, don't you?"

"And why should I?"

"Gee, and I thought the hair would be a given."

"The hair, I don't know what… that weird… hairstyle…"

"I don't find it weird, mind you. I guess you're starting to remember though."

"You… you couldn't be…?"

"Shikamaru Nara, at your service."

"Nara!? As in…?"

"…The son of Shikaku Nara, the head of the clan that sells you your merchandise, yes."

The young boy relished the moment the director became white as snow. As for the man, who was probably in his fifties, he started to sweat as he played nervously with his hands. Of course it would make sense that this boy knew so much about medicines if he was the heir of the Nara clan.

"Ah… Mister Nara sir, I didn't know… forgive my rudeness."

"It's fine," he answered nonchalantly. "so about the arrangements I asked…"

"W-well, I'm sure we could work out something. About this list though…"

"I expect every one of these items to be in my hotel room by dusk."

"…Of course," said the man, turning white at the thought of all that lost money.

"And I want the best rooms of the best inn in town. We're heroes, after all."

"If… if I could only ask one more thing: how long will you fine young men be staying with us?"

"How a month give or take," the genius said, making a lazy gesture with his hand.

The director couldn't open his mouth. He suddenly found himself grasping for air. There was no doubt in his mind: this boy was out to ruin him. And he couldn't do a damn thing about it since he had the power shut down this whole business at a moment's notice.

Shikamaru could see this was painful for the director and decided to leave things as they were. He took his leave and was taken to the hotel by one of the clerks. He made sure the place was the best in town, and shortly after, left in order to find the market place. There he made a round of the food stands, asking where his blonde friend usually ate. The fifth stand had a positive answer. He left a note for Naruto and made his way back to his hotel room.

He rested on his luxurious bed. It was about time too: the pain had started to become unbearable and he didn't feel like he had the strength to even get up. All that was left for him was to wait.

_The medicine or the things I asked from Kakashi: I wonder which will come first… _

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Now that he knew how he could improve by watching fights, Naruto decided to spend his morning training watching how his clones fought. While he and his clones had become better fighters, he felt something was lacking. The feints were a welcomed addition to his fighting style; unfortunately, the attacker was still in disadvantage. The reason was simple; his movements were still far too wide, he understood now that he could see himself in action.

That raised another problem though: from what he could see, those strikes, though leaving huge openings, were the only ones who made use of his full body. In other words, they were his most powerful blows. In the end he had to use them some way or another in order to finish a fight. He noticed this wasn't something he could figure out by watching his clones. He switched exercises while keeping that wall in mind.

Now that he had fully mastered the water walking, he had no idea how to improve his chakra control. He decided to go with his gut feeling and decided not to leave the water. All his exercises and combat practice took place above the river near the village. When he left at noon in order to have lunch however, he felt disappointed; he didn't feel like he had made as much progress as the first days.

As usual, his walk through town was escorted by an array of kids wanting to play with him. Regrettably for them, Naruto wasn't in the mood to play. The genin valued his training above all else: because he felt he hadn't made tangible progress, the blonde thought inappropriate for him to play games. He got to the ramen stand he had favored and ordered the usual. However, he received more than he asked for because along the food came a note. It consisted of direction to a hotel along with a room number. The blonde thought nothing of it until he read the name of his partner on the paper: that changed everything. The genin made a mental note of the whereabouts written on the piece of paper, but remembering how faulty his memory could be sometimes he put the note in his pocket and finished his lunch.

The genin resumed his training hoping things would change by the end of the day, yet he didn't count on it. Unfortunately he was right; a couple of hours had passed and still he felt like he was stuck. His mood kept dropping, but he deemed wise the focus on something else while he was stuck. Since his he had mastered his chakra control, he tried refining the techniques he had learned so far.

The Shadow Clone Jutsu was almost flawless, yet he did require a little bit of time in order to use it. He decided to work on that; he and his clones repeated the hand signs needed to the ninjutsu until the sun at set. By then, he was able to perform clones notably faster. Now that he thought about it, this could be useful. Using his bread and butter jutsus at a moment's notice could do nothing but good in the long run. Because of that, he felt like the day hadn't been a complete waste.

Feeling he wouldn't be able to make more progress, the young genin decided to call it day and headed to the inn Shikamaru had mentioned in his note. He got there and first thought he was in the wrong place. The young pineapple haired shinobi never gave the feeling he was rich; why was it he was in front of such a classy hotel then? Maybe he had read the paper wrong? Nevertheless, the demon vessel wanted to make sure. Surprisingly enough, there was a number reserved under his name; the same that was on the note. Naruto took the key that was handed to him and made way to his room.

Naruto had always lived in poverty, so the bellboy, the spacious room, the huge bathroom, the T.V. with cable, the comfy bed… all that was new to him. He didn't know what he wanted to do first, but he wanted to try everything. In the midst of all these new things however, he felt something was off; he still hadn't seen his teammate. Could it be that this big room was for him alone? The genin exited his room in order to find out. The door to his left held the answer he was looking for: he found yet another note from his teammate.

_If you need any help with your training knock on the door. Shikamaru_

Naruto couldn't be happier. He felt lonely without the presence of a fellow shinobi, not to mention he was kind of facing a wall when it came to his training. He didn't know why Shikamaru was now agreeing to help him, but he didn't complain. He raised his hand and attempted to knock but he stopped himself at the last second.

He was shocked by his own actions: why couldn't he knock on the door? He needed help right now. Deep down however, he felt like this wasn't the right thing to do. Shikamaru had trusted him to be able to train by himself for a week; furthermore, his partner was now in middle of recovery. He deemed that interrupting his friend's peace with his own problems was lame.

Naruto smiled. He settled on continuing on his own for the rest of the week despite being stuck; after all, he had to prove to his friend he had made the right choice by trusting his capabilities. If he still needed help, he was sure Shikamaru would be more than glad to lend him a hand when the time came. He lowered his hand, and satisfied with his decision, regained his room

In another room across the hallway, a certain pineapple haired chuunin grinned: it seemed like he didn't have to worry about the blonde after all. He decided it was time to start his own training.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto got up and went on with his daily routine. It was already a couple of days since he had his new room and he still couldn't get used to it. What amazed him the most was undoubtedly the fact that as much he had dirtied the place the day before it was always spotless when he came back from training. Maybe he should skip a day in order to fool around the hotel… He shook his head, put on his jumpsuit and headed out. When he opened the door to his room, however, he was surprised to see a certain someone trying to knock on the door and having the same shocked expression as he had.

"Shikamaru!"

"Geez, what did I tell you about your voice!" he said as his hands instinctively reached for his hears. "And another thing: how come you always know when I'm bout to knock the door? This is so troublesome." Said the chuunin as he remembered the first time he had tried to knock on Naruto's apartment door.

"He, he! So, it's been a week already huh?"

"Yup. Glad you didn't knock on that door during the week." He said, scratching his head.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because it wasn't my room."

"What!? You mean…!" he yelled, pointing at the note on the door to his left.

"My room is right across yours."

"Why, you son of a…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Shikamaru stifled a yawn. "Come on, we're out of here."

"Wait a second!"

The Nara asked what was holding Naruto back. The young shinobi raised an eyebrow when the genin told him that he was that reason. The doctors had said he shouldn't be able to do heavy exercises for a month; was he really in any condition to head outside? For sole answer, Shikamaru rotated his left shoulder then proceeded to a couple of stretching exercises in front of his friend.

"Satisfied?"

"But the doctor…"

"Wasn't a medic, nin, was he?"

"Oh yeah…" and that was enough to satisfy him. "OK then; training!"

Before two boys set out, the young Nara gave Naruto a backpack to carry. The bag was so heavy he almost toppled over. He asked for the contents of the bag and received a cryptic answer. At least he knew it had to do with training, so he didn't pry too much.

Naruto led the way to his training spot, as they walked, Shikamaru inquired about his partner's week. He was glad to learn that Naruto had worked on his glaring weakness. He smiled as the genin proudly narrated his discovery like it was the greatest experience.

"So then, I got stuck; I could feint, but I still couldn't land a good blow if the opponent focused on the defense. That's when I decided I should try to take on my clones first hand."

"Did you find anything?"

"I sure did!" he said with a mischievous grin.

As for the other boy, he focused mostly on recovery for most of the week, so his training periods had been few and far in between. He did found something, but he couldn't show it or even talk about until he found out for himself _what_ it was he had discovered. All that it meant for Naruto was that Shikamaru wasn't ready to talk about it. The only thing left for him was to shrug about it.

"Now, how about a spar?" asked the chuunin. That was all the blonde wanted to hear: he was eager to show what he had learn to his friend, and what better way than to beat it into his body. He vehemently nodded, already gloating about his future victory. The genius said nothing, but invited Naruto to follow him with a gesture.

Once again the fight would take place on top of the water. The rules were the same as their first bout: no jutsus. The genin paid no attention; all he was waiting for was the start signal. Shikamaru raised his hand, took a defensive stance, and waited for his opponent to come at him. As soon as the fight started, Naruto ran straight at his partner. Shikamaru didn't move, but silently questioned Naruto's rush. Did he really improve that week? The young boy started to wonder if he had did the right thing when he let Naruto train by himself.

Everything changed with the first strike; Naruto had closed the gap and was ready to throw one of his huge overhead punches the Nara could see from a mile away, yet at the last second his left fist came out instead. The move was so fast and unexpected the chuunin didn't even have time to dodge it. He unconsciously brought up his right in attempt to deflect the blow. Right after that he parried a right kick aimed at his ribs, then barely dodged quick one-two only to back flip over a leg sweep… Shikamaru had all the trouble in the world keeping up with the new and improved Naruto. Suddenly his moves had become smaller and sharper.

Then, out of nowhere, Naruto threw a heavy right. The genius instinctively knew that he wouldn't be able to deflect it and that he was in no position to evade it. He brought both his hands in order to protect himself from the impact. After that he lowered his arms a little in order to see what move the genin would use next, but his opponent wasn't in front of him anymore. This surprise made him hesitate for a split-second. When he finally looked down it was too late. Naruto had crouched and jumped with his outstretched first, hitting Shikamaru squarely in the jaw. The boy flew up before crashing into the water.

Naruto was overjoyed by the results. Finally being able to connect a punch with Shikamaru was the greatest proof of progress in his book. He wanted to gloat over his opponent, but when he walked in the direction of his partner, he felt something was wrong; the Nara wasn't swimming to the surface. He dove in order to quickly drag his teammate to solid ground, where he could cough and breath at his leisure.

"'should've told me you hadn't recovered!" he said, his arms behind his head.

"Idiot! You punch me in the jaw and you expect me to recover in a split second?" he whined between wheezes.

"Hey!? You can't? I remember I did once…"

"If you have a brain, then no, you can't. Maybe that's why you can take those hits on."

"Hey!"

Shikamaru waited on the shore until he had regained control of his body and requested a second bout… on land. The result didn't change much, in fact it became easier for Naruto to land a blow the second time around. The boy had focused on blocking and deflecting blows instead of dodging them, but since the blonde now mixed light strikes with his heavy blows, je had no trouble finding openings in Shikamaru's defense. In less then two minutes, the chuunin was once again on the ground, breathless.

The boy couldn't believe how much his partner had progressed. The way he now used his left hand was far from perfect, however Naruto shouldn't have been able to get at this level so fast. This type of practice was about the form of the punch, a physical task the "clone" training method was unfit to speed up. He asked the blonde prankster how he accomplished such a feat.

"Well, I figured out I should be using my left more, so I had my clones throw various types of left punches. I picked the fastest one and at first trained with my clones, but that didn't work, so I focused all of the last day throwing lefts on my own."

Naruto was a tad perplexed; Shikamaru praised his efforts, even going as far as commending him for surpassing his expectations, yet the genius had sighed soon afterwards and his usual scowl had somehow regained its rightful place. The boy asked his teammate if he had done something wrong. Shikamaru shook his head and explained him that now he had done everything he could for him in the taijutsu department; until they went back to Konoha, all he could do was train with his clones. Naruto was disappointed by the news, but he didn't understand how this could annoy Shikamaru so much.

"Oh, I'm not annoyed by that," he said bluntly as he swatted the supposition away.

"What then?"

"It's just that now that you're better me, you're the perfect training partner for me."

"So?" the blonde clearly didn't get where the genius was going with this.

"Now I have no excuse not train in taijutsu."

The genin thought about apologize to Shikamaru until he realized what he meant. He kicked dirt at the boy still on the floor and called him a lazy ass, saying how he'd never become a great ninja if he didn't stop slacking off. As he coughed some more from all the dirt, the chuunin thought it was about time to get down to serious matters. He asked Naruto to bring the heavy bag he had brought with him and to sit next to him.

The young Nara's first announcement was that a month from now Naruto would have learned three new jutsus: He would first learn the body flicker, then a basic fire elemental technique followed by a wind jutsu. The blue eyed boy couldn't naturally hide his excitement; still he wondered why he'd learn a fire type jutsu since wind was his chakra nature. His teammate replied that the more diverse his attacks, the more effective a shinobi he'd become, but the blonde was already sold on the idea the moment he heard the technique's name: it was the fireball jutsu. At the thought of finally learning a move the Uchiha himself used, Uzumaki's complaint melted like snow.

That wasn't all however: starting tomorrow he'd start new training in order to both refine his chakra control and master his wind nature. A new question arose in Naruto's mind: when would he have time to do all of that? Shikamaru reassured him by stating he already made a schedule. Of course this would only possible because of his clones. Still, the genius wasn't done yet; he had one more training exercise in store for Naruto.

From the bag the young Nara took out a set of training weights: each of those weighted half of what Lee usually wore.

"So, I'm gonna train like Rock Lee, now? Cool."

"Not exactly, there are a couple of differences."

"Like what?"

"Rock Lee didn't use wristbands for example. The training won't be the same either: your task is to put these on during your water walking until you don't have chakra anymore."

"That's all?"

""That's all?" he says…" the chuunin snorted. Naruto would soon find out for himself what kind of training he had to put up with.

The next day, training started, like Shikamaru had said. To start things, he spent an hour with his teammate in order to learn the hand seal needed to perform the jutsu. The young genius then left Naruto to train for himself until noon. During this time, the genin would try to reproduce the technique, after then he'd shift to chakra control until the sun was half way down.

This new training involved special gloves which reacted to chakra by changing color. The neat thing about this glove was that only the part of the glove that contained chakra changed. Nara told Naruto the exercise had three parts: first, he had to be able to light glove save one finger. It was easier said then done; this training was usually undertaken by students aiming to become medical nin, therefore required near perfect precision.

After lunch, Naruto fought against himself while he lent one of his clones to Shikamaru for him to train in hand to hand combat. Following taijutsu training, Naruto started his nature manipulation exercise: he had to try splitting a leaf, using his chakra. Shikamaru's only advice on the matter was to focus on the effect he wanted to achieve. By the time he finished, not even one of the many Narutos could even as much as a dent on the leaf. And then came the training weights.

The last part of the day was by far the hardest one; the poor blonde could barely move around with that much load on him. It was evident that because of that he could only train by the ford of the river: sinking in that kind of condition could mean painful death. That was the least of his worries though: the chakra needed to stay afloat with that burden was huge, even for him, so much that the first day he could only train for ten minutes.

The first thing the completely chakra depleted Naruto did after that was to whine to his partner. He had too much to do in one day, most if not all of his exercises required chakra so he had almost none when the time came for the last part. Shikamaru reassured him; his training would be better after a week. All he had to was to keep at it, trust in the training and in himself.

Besides that was another recurring problem he noticed: he had fainted many times during his training: it specifically happened after his exercise was over and he called off his shadow clones. His partner figured it had to do with mental stress; in fact he was surprised it didn't happen sooner. He told Naruto the best way to work around that was to only dispatch a group of few clones at a time. If he kept training that way however, he'd probably get use to it in the long run.

The chuunin was right: training did get better after a week. While it was true that for the first few days Naruto had barely the energy to practice this enhanced version of the water walking, he could gradually do it for longer periods of time. After three days, he could finally rip a leaf in two. From that point on he trained in the next level.

And the month quickly went by.

_**More training: Time to improve, Shikamaru!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: Ha! I'm sure you're wondering what Shikamaru did in the mean time. Sorry, but I reached my quota; you'll have to wait till next week. In the mean time, care to guess where I'm going with Naruto's training? What about the wind jutsu he's learning, do you have an idea what it'll be? I can give a tip: it's a jutsu seen in the manga.**

**PS: I suck at chapter titles -__-' if someone as a better idea for this or any other chapters, let me know. **


	14. A Month

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**14. The First Mission: A Month**

_**The month is at an end; just how far did our heroes progress?**_

Naruto's training was coming up nicely. While his methods were often marginal to say the least, even the most severe of teachers would be proud of his progress. That didn't mean he advanced equally in every aspect however: the end of the month was around the corner, yet he was still struggling with the second step of his new chakra control. He had now to focus chakra trough each of his fingers separately but still couldn't control his chakra enough do it for fingers other than the thumb and the index. As for his hand to hand combat practice, it came to a complete halt. Shikamaru was right about that: there was no way for him to progress right now without the aid of a taijutsu instructor.

On the other hand, he was able to master wind elemental recomposition in three weeks flat. The scrolls had talked about splitting a waterfall in half, unfortunately there was no such thing in the vicinity, so he opted to try to separating the flow of the river instead. Using the tips he got from Asuma through Shikamaru, the last step of the training became relatively easy. That gave him even more time – and chakra – for his other exercises; mainly the new and improved water walking.

The easiest part of this exercise by far was to stay afloat. However, Shikamaru expected him to move freely; in fact he didn't consider the training conclusive until the genin was able to put up a decent fight against him. This was probably the hardest thing he had ever done. Movement required the power of his whole body; in other words, he had to output the same amount of chakra throughout every inch of his body. When he had finally mastered it a week ago, Shikamaru had told Naruto each weight had three levels that could be activated by a seal. Needless to say the boy had been discouraged that day.

Also something unexpected appeared, delaying his training somewhat. Toshiro and the other kids were adamant that he had to come and play with them: they were addicted to his crazy antics, his mischievous nature and his charismatic allure. At first they had shown themselves understanding, but the children eventually became tired of Naruto always neglecting them, so they politely asked him to put some time off his training in their favor: The genin flat out refused. The kids opted for a less diplomatic method: they decided to follow Naruto to his training location and did everything in their power to turn Naruto favorite pastime into a living hell.

The Kyuubi vessel couldn't do a thing about them, unfortunately; according to Shikamaru, they had officially been given the mission of protecting the village. That turned every villager into a client: in order words they were untouchable. The boy was forced to give up two hours of his daily regime in order to accommodate the kids. Fortunately, this coincided with the time he had decided to stop his taijutsu practice, so in the end it wasn't too much of a setback.

As the last day of training came closer, the genin was more and more excited. He had two reasons for this; the first one being Shikamaru would finally explain him every aspects of his training. He had made some connections, like how his chakra control helped him with the new and improved water walking, but for the most part he was completely in the dark. The most important reason however was the he'd finally get to see what the young Nara had been up to during the last month.

Shikamaru had been pretty elusive about his training and it bothered the genin. All he knew was that the some of the methods he used were clan secrets, so he always trained out of sight: in other words, nothing. Needless to say, because of his curious nature, the whole aspect of the thing was torment for the poor blonde. He couldn't wait to see what his friend had in store for him.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru woke up with the sun. He took time to slowly enjoy the Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, before ordering a copious breakfast. As he enjoyed his food watching TV, he thought for a second that maybe he should have become a business tycoon instead of a shinobi; spending his life in luxurious hotels, doing nothing but coaxing people into giving him even more money… He shrugged the thought away though; he didn't want to turn out like that pharmacy director he had just "negotiated" with. Also he knew deep down he'd eventually find this all boring; and heaven knew how much he dreaded boredom.

The sun outside was already out of sight. He remembered telling Naruto they would meet at noon. The genius knew Naruto was of the impatient kind so he figured he was already at his training spot. Too bad for him; Shikamaru wasn't the kind of guy to hurry up for such trifling matter. He did have to get going if he hoped to be there on time though, so he picked up his stuff and headed for the door.

When he pulled the door knob he almost jumped when he saw the silhouette of a woman staring at him. From the look of things, she had no intention to knock either, which was kind of weird. She was definitely looking at him though, which did nothing to reassure him; that worried look and white uniform were all too familiar.

"Shikamaru.", said the young woman

"You… you're that nosy nurse."

"It's Megumi."

"…right."

She was definitely blocking his way out. He had no idea why and he didn't care; from the look on her face, whatever it was, it would be a pain. For some reason it always was when he had to deal with women. Unfortunately for her, he didn't exactly have all the time in the world; wasting time here would mean he'd have to hurry in order to be on time. Seeing talking to her would result in not one, but two troublesome things, Shikamaru sighed, and before Megumi could utter as much as a syllable, he closed the door and locked it.

He headed out to window and opened it. He looked outside; there was nobody around. He relaxed, knowing that people wouldn't mistake him as a thief. Violent bangs could be heard from the door behind him; that nurse sure was stubborn. He wondered if she seriously expected him to open the door after what he did. Not wanting to dwell too much on that thought, he jumped out his window and headed out of the village, where he was stopped at the entrance.

"What now?" he said, with a tinge of annoyance, "I'm kind of busy."

"Ah, sorry to bother you sir, it's just that my son Izuma here just told me he spotted the bandits not too long ago."

"Is that so?" Suddenly this conversation had grabbed his attention.

"He quickly ran away when he saw them, but from what he told me, they were heading for their hideout."

"Heh, thought as much. Oh well, don't worry about it. It's a pain, but I guess we'll have to do something about it… tomorrow."

Hands in his pockets, the young chuunin headed to the meeting spot hoping that nothing else would get in his way. When he finally arrived there Naruto had almost died of boredom.

"Man, you're late!"

"You're wrong; even the sun tends to disagree with you," he said pointing at the star who had not yet reached its highest point. "I told you we'd meet here at noon, didn't I? Not my fault you're an impatient idiot."

"Shut up, you no good slacker!" he answered childishly.

He quickly regained his composure however and bombarded Shikamaru with questions about Nara's training as well as his own. The genius didn't answer any of them; first he wanted to see how far he had progressed. The blonde whined, threatened, sulked… Shikamaru was inflexible. The boy gave up when he realized his friend was far more patient, not to mention less curious, than he was. Grumbling, he showed off the result of his training.

He was able to use his elemental chakra at a moment's notice and was almost done with the third level of weights; he still couldn't use them while fighting but he was practically there. He was still in the second step of the hand training though; able enough to do it, but it still required too much time. The genius couldn't help but snort at the results.

"A couple of years of training in only a month's time. And you make it look so easy too."

"Not my fault I've got some much talent; you're born awesome, you know." said, the cheeky genin as he rubbed his nose.

His partner ignored his last comment and went on: "Well, I guess that's that for the exercises; what about the jutsus I taught you?"

First up was the Body Flicker Technique. The execution was almost flawless: Naruto could use the move on command in a radius of half a kilometer without breaking a sweat. He told the young Nara that during his tests, he tried to found the maximum distance he could travel without impairing his fighting abilities; Shikamaru was a barely surprised to learn he could do a body flicker about thirty hundred meters long.

Next were the attack ninjutsu he had learned. The blonde looked a bit down before showing his Fireball Jutsu. He did the required hand seals and a flame projectile three times the normal size. The Genius was glad that Naruto applied what he had learned from his chakra control exercises into his jutsu training; since the blonde had figured it out by himself, there was less explaining to do. He didn't get his teammate's disappointed face, though.

"That's great! With that kind power, you might as well call it a Great Fireball Jutsu."

"Yeah, I guess…"

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm wind type, right?"

"Yeah? So what?"

"How come I get such a weak nature! I learned the Breakthrough technique just like you taught me, and I used it the same way inputting more chakra and all that, but all it does his a great gust of wind; the fireball looks way cooler. Besides, when I tried it against my clones, all it did was push them away; they didn't even disappear."

Shikamaru took a good look at his friend before calling him and idiot. Next, he asked the genin if he had ever thought of using the recomposed wind elemental chakra to perform the jutsu. Naruto blinked a couple of seconds before scratching his head: "Oh, right; never thought of that." He quickly made a bunch of clones he prepared to blow them away. Before he could, Shikamaru had one of the clones hold one of his kunai.

"[Wind Element: Breakthrough Technique]!"

The great gust of wind practically leveled the field of all the clones. It was so strong that it even blew the part of the water out of the river. Not only every clone disappeared, but some of them were even destroyed before they had even left the ground. The blonde was ecstatic, but didn't understand how they destroyed in the first place. Meanwhile, Shikamaru went to retrieve his kunai which flew almost 300 meters from where they were and showed it to his friend.

"Look at my kunai."

"Hey, what happened to it? It looks all messed up."

"How?"

"Well…," Naruto picked up the weapon in order to take a closer look. "It looks worn out, actually: there are cuts everywhere."

"It was brand new."

"What! No way!"

"Remember what I told you about the wind element?"

"Sure you said something like wind… wind…"

"…You forgot."

"I forgot."

The young genius slapped his forehead before answering: "Wind cuts."

"Oh yeah, I remember now! Wait… so you mean…?"

"Yeah, when you use that jutsu with the wind element chakra, not only his it more powerful, but it gains cutting properties as well."

"Awesome! But hey! Does that mean your fireball jutsu his greater than mine?"

"Well it's not bigger, but… let me just show you."

Shikamaru made the exact same jutsu Naruto had made earlier. The fireball was a bit bigger than the Great Fireball Technique he had seen from Sasuke, but it wasn't as big as the one he had made earlier. However, the color was different: it was leaning more towards orange compared to his reddish version. Heat waves coming from the fireball could also be seen, so he figured the fire coming from Shikamaru's flame was more intense than his own. Finally, the jutsu went much farther and faster than when he had done it. Naruto had to admit his partner's Fireball Jutsu was more powerful.

The young Nara wasn't done with his little demonstration however: he asked for Naruto to make a clone and have that Naruto use his wind jutsu against him. Naruto was surprised, yet he did as he was told. The clone moved to a reasonable distance between him and the chuunin and got ready to use the technique.

"[Wind Element: Breakthrough Technique]!"

"[Fire Element: Fireball Technique]!"

The results left Naruto speechless for a moment. He quickly demanded to know why his clone ended utterly obliterated by the fireball. Shikamaru explained him the concept of the five-way game of Rock-Paper-Scissors between the elements and how using this information at the right time could make one's jutsu even stronger.

"So basically, I can't beat you because you're fire and I'm wind? That sucks!"

"Well, it's not really like you need to use elemental jutsus all the time; it's just a piece of warning in case you face off against a fire elemental expert. Besides, if you look at it from another angle, it means we can make a nice combo jutsu, right?"

"Well, if you put it that way, it does sound kind of cool."

While they were on the subject though, he asked Shikamaru what he was up to during his own training time. The boy didn't want to answer at first, but was so hard pressed by his teammate he ended up telling him anyway.

His taijutsu had reached a level where he could finally defend against Naruto's clone properly. For that he trained his eyes and reflexes to pick the faintest traces of movement in order to react instantly. As for his chakra control, he wasn't far behind Naruto: he was also at the second step of the exercise himself. Naruto was shocked to hear Shikamaru was so close behind him, but it made sense when considering the Nara had far less chakra to manipulate and therefore had more control over it. He also was done with fire recomposition since he had started the training with his teacher and had already reached the first step then. As for the jutsus he learned, they were the same as Naruto except for the wind jutsu; he felt it would be useless for him to learn it. So far it sounded pretty similar to what Naruto had been doing.

Things changed however when he picked up his bag and started to put down an explosive tag on the floor.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Yeah, it's an explosive tag; so what?"

"So, I'm the one who made it."

"…Eh!"

It went beyond that. He was also able to make different tags: a sleeping tag, a paralyzing one, a chakra triggered explosive, a remote control tag that reacted to a special hand sing… there was even a "dud" explosive. Among all of these items was a grenade looking object with the kanji for "light" written on it. Shikamaru told him it was exactly what it looked like: a light emitting grenade. While all of these things were cool and useful in there own way, Naruto wasn't satisfied.

"You're telling me that's the secret training only the members of your clan can use?

"Oh, that? Sorry, but I don't want to show you yet."

"What! Come on, Shikamaru! I've waited long enough already."

"Well, I could show it to you tomorrow."

"Really? What's going to happen tomorrow?

"We're taking the bandits down."

It took a while before Naruto smiled. He was trembling of excitement: he had found the perfect targets to test out his progress… that is, until Shikamaru said something totally outrageous:

"Naruto, tomorrow I'm taking care of that whole group on my own."

"No way, not a chance! If anyone's going to kick their ass by himself it's me."

"You already did last time."

"But… but that's… that doesn't count!" The boy felt he was rapidly losing his chance to shine.

"Naruto… this is something I have to do."

The genin looked at his teammate for a second; he had a determined expression. He remembered how Shikamaru had reacted when he was in the same situation. He sighed; maybe he should just sit this one out. Besides, he was still curious about that supposed secret training of his, and it wasn't everyday that Shikamaru Nara wanted to do something demanding some kind of effort.

"Something you have to do, huh?"

"… You just stole my line, didn't you?" said Shikamaru with a smile.

"I have no idea what you're taking about," he replied innocently. "Beside, you stole mine first."

"Whatever, in any case we're done here."

"So what do we do now?"

"Since I'm going to be pretty busy tomorrow, how about we take this time to visit the village?"

"Sounds good to me; the first time didn't count to me: all those people kept looking at us funny."

With that said, the team discussed some more about training before heading back to the village where they spent the rest of the day. They walked through the markets and checked out the tourist attractions. While strolling about, they were accosted by Toshiro and his gang and forced to play games, despite Shikamaru's protests. When the kids left, they ate at Naruto's usual ramen stand before going back to their rooms.

As Shikamaru was complaining about Naruto's new friends, the blonde pointed to a person in their hallway.

"Hey Shikamaru, there's a girl sleeping in front your room!"

"What!"

The poor chuunin couldn't believe his eyes: the nurse had stayed in front of his door the whole time; next to him, his partner was asking him if he had made a girlfriend… Needless to say the boy was finding this situation pretty troublesome. He really wanted to hit the sack, but since he had to choose between waking her up and climbing the window to his room from outside… talk about troublesome.

"Hey, nosy nurse, wake up: you're blocking the way to my room."

Megumi stirred a bit before opening her eyes. "Hmm… What? What am I doing here?

"Beats me; but you're blocking the way to my door so…"

The girl quickly removed herself confused by the events. However she quickly moved back in front of the door arms outstretched in order to prevent the chuunin from regaining his comfy bed.

"You're not going anywhere, Shikamaru Nara; not until I'm done talking to you! And how come you're here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in your room?"

"I left."

"But how, I'm sure I haven't left my spot all day… Well I _did_ get something to eat…"

"I jumped out of the window." He said that like it was a perfectly normal thing.

"…YOU JUMPED OUT OF THE THIRD FLOOR!"

"Look, I don't have the time or the patience to explain you everything; just tell me what you want and let me go to sleep, you nosy nurse.

"IT'S MEGUMI!

"… Whatever."

For a second, she looked like she was going to hit him, but she calmed herself then asked Shikamaru if he and his friend could nicely leave the hotel. The two boys were confused by her request: they hadn't done anything wrong during their stay. Naruto was especially against the idea since it was the first time he had lived in such a nice place. Since she couldn't change their minds, she changed her request.

"Then please, stop forcing my father to pay for the rooms."

"Your father's the director of the pharmacy?" the girl nodded. He sighed "I knew something troublesome like that would happen."

"So, you weren't the one to pay for these rooms?" asked a confused Naruto.

"Of course not; what do I look like: some kind of rich kid? I found myself a sponsor, so to speak."

"That "sponsor" is my father!"

"Couldn't care less," he said coolly, "he had it coming."

"How can you say that! Do you have any idea how much these rooms cost? My father's not that rich, you know; you're ruining him!"

The young Nara took a good look at the girl in front him. She had no idea about what the real situation was from the way she was speaking. He didn't want to bother giving an explanation, but Naruto had started to look at him disapprovingly: he didn't want his friend to have the wrong idea.

"It seems _you_ have the wrong idea about the whole situation."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Do you know where your father gets his medicine equipments from?" Seeing she was clueless, the boy answered for her: "He mostly buys them from the Nara clan. You're a nurse, surely you've heard that name before."

"You don't mean…?"

"Yep, I'm a member of that clan."

"So what does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything actually: you're father's a crook. His merchandise is way too overpriced."

"… Overpriced?"

"Three times the recommended selling price."

"Ah… well, he's just trying to make a profit." she was a bit shocked about what she had just heard.

"Really? The selling price we recommend his roughly twice the amount of money used to order our merchandise."

"You're… joking…right?" A simple calculation revealed her father made one hefty profit.

"I don't really care, but at least I'm pretty far from ruining your father when he has this much money. If you think I'm being mean right now though, wait till my clan hears about this: they'll probably make him pay back all the money he stole and then some."

The girl was beyond shocked by what she had heard, and still couldn't believe it, yet it made sense: Her father did look like he was hiding something. Not to mention he had bought many things for his family and himself without ever mentioning where the money had come from. Meanwhile Naruto was questioning Shikamaru.

"So how come you're not rich: you're the ones selling that stuff after all."

"Well, most of the profits go into our research facility; it's somewhere hidden in the fire country. We don't really need that much money anyway."

"So," said the girl rejoining the conversation, "you did this because my father was a fraud?"

"I already told you: I don't care about that. You're father's free to do whatever he wants… as long as he leaves the Nara clan out of it. I have to file a report on him since I found out though, so that's that. I must give him props though; he sure is sly."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The way he tried to use you to get to me, obviously. It was well played considering he had no info on me… could've worked too."

"What, what do mean? He _used_ me? I don't get it"

Knowing how women loved to brag and gossip, Shikamaru figured Megumi had told her family she had been nursing the "hero" of the village. Her father probably took that opportunity to tell them about his misfortune, expecting the nurse would take her poor father's defense against the boy and hoping he would listen to his benefactor. He shared his thoughts with the nurse. His theory was confirmed when Megumi clenched her fist with a terrifying expression on her face. "Foolish father…" she said as she started to head home.

Shikamaru was glad he wasn't the pharmacy director, and now that her daughter was out of the way he could finally go to his room. He had just closed the door to his room that he heard a knock on his door. He went to open it, thinking Naruto had one more unanswered question, but instead found the brunette.

"… You came back."

"Well, I wanted to tell you: my father acting like a jerk doesn't give you the right…"

"Drop it," he said a little too seriously, which surprised the nurse. "I really need to rest: I'll be busy tomorrow."

The girl's anger quickly turned back to her familiar worry. "Busy? You sure you're in any condition to…"

"I just jumped out of the window of the third floor today; I think it's safe to say that I'm perfectly fine."

"But, what are you…"

"Nothing to worry about," he said as he closed the door and dragged himself to bed.

_I'm just gonna take out the trash._

_**Shikamaru actually up for some serious ass kicking! Will the fruits of his secret training be finally revealed?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: New chapter! I thought the space between the disclaimer and the story was kind of empty so I put a little something in it. Makes me think of Dragonball… Also I thought the chapters were kind of… dunno dull, I guess so I added a little something in the beginning and the end. Makes it feel manga-ish. Should I keep doing it?**

**Oh! And for those who don't know.**

**Wind-Fire-Water-Earth-Lightning-Wind**

**The element to the left is weak against the element to the right. Ex: if you use fire against water, not only your jutsu will be canceled, but the water jutsu will be even more powerful.**


	15. Fruits

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**15****. The First Mission: Fruits**

_**The time has come to see the results of his hard work; don't disappoint us, Shikamaru!**_

It was still dark outside of the hotel where team Oblivion was staying. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the first rays of light could be seen. As the form of the bright star could finally be seen, a young black haired shinobi closed the curtains of his window. He wondered how people could enjoy looking at sunrises or sunsets: they were so boring.

The boy yawned on his way to the showers. He would've given anything to be currently sleeping on his luxurious bed; instead he had to prepare for something that would probably end up not being worth the trouble. Now fully awake, he ordered breakfast while preparing the equipment he thought of using during the attack. The food was great as usual; that reminded him, not without regret, that the time to leave the hotel was coming soon. But now wasn't the time to think about it. He quickly finished his meal and headed back to his bed.

There he sat and tried to concentrate. For a while he looked tensed, but soon his muscles relaxed and a smile appeared on his lips: he had found what he was looking for. As usual it wasn't much, but it was enough to perform the jutsu he wanted to use without wasting more chakra. He did the required hand seals: [Ninja Arts: Absolute Control]. The results were immediate; the effects weren't. From an outsider's perspective, all it looked like was that Shikamaru had succeeded in knocking himself out.

He stayed in this state for about two minutes then opened his eyes. Still sitting, he focused on his task. The genius stood in this position for a couple of hours, his hands forming on their own the position he was so accustomed to use when concentrating. When he felt that had achieved what he was aiming for, Shikamaru relaxed and let himself fall on his bed: he was finally ready to storm the bandits' lair.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto and Shikamaru met at the outskirts of town at 11 o'clock, where they set out for the cliff. The genin wanted to hurry, but his partner had other ideas.

"I have something to tell you before we get there."

"Man, can't it wait 'till I kick their ass?"

"You mean, until _I_ kick their ass, right?"

"Oh… right." Disappointment could be seen on his face. Naruto took a pleading expression: "Can I at least help you, please?"

"Nope."

"Can't I beat up a dozen of them?" he pleaded.

"No."

"How about five, then?"

"No"

"Not even one!" he begged.

"Not even one." He replied, with a tone that left no place for retort.

"…You totally suck, you know that!" whined the sulking blonde as he crossed his arms.

"Really…?" The chuunin sighed. "I was thinking of telling you about my secret training, but since you're obviously not interested…"

"Secret training!" Naruto, now in front of Shikamaru had a sudden change of mood. "You're really going to tell me! Finally! Come on, come one; what's the secret!"

The young boy smiled as his teammate pressed him about his recent findings: Naruto was so easy to maneuver sometimes. The chuunin thought things would be easier if he told him everything now. By doing so, the chuunin wouldn't have to explain himself while fending off the bandits; that could've been quite strenuous. Besides, it was a perfect way to review what he had been doing the last month.

It all started during his convalescence. Shikamaru had been doing some thinking about what to train during his recovery period. Since he couldn't move around, he needed something that required being completely still. Fortunately, he had just the jutsu to that: it was called the Absolute Control Technique. The chuunin had only used the technique once, in order to show to his dad he had indeed learned it; in fact, he was surprised he would even use the jutsu again.

Basically, the technique of Absolute Control was way to enter a deep state of meditation enabling the user to take command of his brain. Usually, a conscious person is only able to command certain parts of his body, mainly the muscles. This skill however put even the brain stem under the control the shinobi; meaning even things like breathing and digestion could be turned on and off, not that any sane person would want to do that though.

When he first learned about it, Shikamaru thought it would be useful; being able to produce certain hormones like adrenaline on demand could be a good way to replace the soldier pill. Many problems however, prevented the technique from being useful to an offensive ninjutsu user. First, it required an important amount of chakra; so much that the young Nara could only use it three or four times a day. Another thing was the amount of information that needed to be controlled at same time: it was so much that the jutsu could only be used in an unconscious state. The young Nara had tried to do it once while being conscious: his brain had almost shut down due to information overload. The biggest problem was that the orders given to the body were cancelled the second the jutsu was over; that on top of the other shortcomings made the technique a needless risk for most shinobi.

Its usefulness really shined when it came to research however, as masters of the technique were the prefect test subjects. Only the smallest amount of medicine or poison was sufficient for them to be detected in the body of the user. Also, the various effects and drawbacks of most researches could be defined in greater detail. In fact, the Absolute Control technique, along with the deer horns, and their natural talent for research were the main reasons the Nara clan was such an authority in the medicinal department. In the end it was still not worth learning for Shikamaru, but that, along with the shadow manipulating jutsus were fundamental to the Nara clan, and as the heir he had the task to learn it.

Since he had nothing much to do, the chuunin had decided to use his free time building his stamina. The simplest way to do so was to drain all his chakra from his body: it would stimulate the production of more of the substance in order to accommodate with the demand. Usually this wasn't a recommended method since it left the shinobi in a very vulnerable state, but since he couldn't move anyway he had nothing to lose. So he used the jutsu multiple times a day in order to drain himself of all that energy.

It was the second day of this temporary training that he thought about exploring the possibilities of the technique: it was the least he could do since doing nothing all day was more than a little dull. After a while in that state, he noticed that he could explore the insides of his body; he could "see" every system organ, even every cell of his body. He was surprised to find that even the chakra coils were observable with the help of the jutsu. It wouldn't help that much: he wasn't a Hyuuga after all. Still, the inner workings of his body had something that grabbed his interest. He felt like he could find something worthwhile if he kept at it.

The next day, he made a noteworthy discovery: he learned he could remotely control his chakra coils. Under the state of the Absolute Control Technique, the chuunin could forcibly close his chakra opening points as surely as he could stop every other organ of his body: cool, but utterly useless.

Out of interesting things to explore, the genius wondered out of pure curiosity if he could slow down his own chakra flow. He knew that he couldn't totally stop the chakra flow; he'd stupidly kill himself if he did. Of course he had absolutely no reason to experiment with his chakra flow either: in the end the more chakra he had, the better. He pondered on that before trying something so dangerous and came up with a reasonable answer: this could help in the stealth department.

This was a department Naruto was sorely lacking in, and Shikamaru was afraid that this particular trait could never be corrected, so it was up to the young Nara to make up for it. He figured the slower his chakra flow, the less chakra he would let out; it would be difficult to sense him then. And who knew, with any luck, maybe he could slow it enough that his heart could be affected; it would be an interesting was to fake his death. This opened new potential his deception skills. Of course, for it to be really effective, he would have to do so without relying on a jutsu, but for now this was all a hypothesis; he'd think about that _after_ the success of his experiment.

"Hey, wait a second!" said Naruto, totally destroying the mood.

"What?"

"So, that weight training, it was in order to improve my chakra capa… capi… the amount of chakra I have, right?"

"…Yeah, I guess," was the chuunin's reply as he wondered why it had taken Naruto so long to ask about it. "It's not the only reason, but it was one of my goals."

"Didn't you just say that being totally chakra depleted would leave a shinobi defenseless?

"Yeah, I did." Shikamaru was somewhat surprised that Naruto had picked up that information, of all things."

"So what would have happened if I faced an enemy like that, huh?"

"No worries there: you'd probably use whatever move you used against Neji."

"But I'd be relying on the Kyuubi then; I don't want that!"

"That's why I'm helping you work on your chakra capacity; the more stamina you have, the less you'll have to rely on the Nine Tails demon."

"…Huh?" The blonde was confused; this whole logic was going in circles.

"Can I go on with my explanation now?"

"Uh? Yeah, sure…" said the genin, slightly paying attention: he was still trying to make sense of the whole chakra depletion problem.

The young Nara sighed and continued with the details of last month's actions.

At first, his methods didn't work; opening and closing the chakra coils around his body only altered the chakra flow. Since that was the case, Shikamaru opted to mess with the most important part of the chakra system: the place where his body produced the chakra. Unlike the other systems of the body, the inner coils system is one way only, so stopping that part of the body was definitely going to affect the flow of chakra. Of course this was very dangerous: it was like trying to purposefully shut down your heart or brain.

He almost killed himself during his first try. Because he still couldn't control the coils like the other parts of his body, he shut it down too fast; the result was incredible pain throughout every nerve of his body, not to mention he felt like his heart had stopped and he couldn't breathe. Acting out of desperation, the young Nara immediately cancelled the jutsu. After he regained consciousness, he coughed up blood nonstop for almost an hour and was aching everywhere. His only luck was that his wounds had already healed by then; that could have set back his convalescence for at least another week or two. The boy decided to stop his training for the rest of that day.

The day after that was the end of the week he had imposed to Naruto. Shikamaru had woke very early that morning and decided to try slowing his flow again.

"Wait, wait, wait: _you _woke up _early_ in order to_ train!_" asked a startled genin.

"No. I usually wake up very early; it's just that I go to sleep soon after cause I have nothing to do." explained the black haired shinobi. _That and my mom would make me do all the deer tending chores if she found me awake that early. _

"Okay, but why didn't you go back to sleep then?"

"I couldn't. So I trained in order to kill time, I guess."

What Shikamaru didn't tell Naruto was that the real reason he didn't go back to sleep was because of him; he knew that his friend would become stronger during the week. He didn't want to meet him again without having found something useful. The impression he had of not being suited to be a chuunin had only gotten stronger during this mission; he wanted to get rid of this annoying feeling.

The boy continued with his story.

Knowing where he had erred, he tried taking this more slowly than the first time. He carefully monitored the coils, making sure he didn't close them completely. He felt he had succeeded when, after a couple of hours, he felt the whole inner workings of his body had almost come to a halt. Something was off though; his heart rate had gone down, but his brain activities had remained the same. The boy had no idea what to think of those results.

He checked his chakra flow; the results were depressing. At first he had felt the flow had slowed down, but now it was back to normal. He also knew he couldn't try to close the coils anymore; from what he felt, constricting them anymore would have the same effect as if the were completely closed. It seemed it was a failed experiment.

He cancelled the jutsu and looked at the time: 8 o'clock. Naruto would get up soon, but he felt he could have another try and see if he could slow his chakra flow in another way. He gathered his chakra in order to use the jutsu again, but something happened.

"Something… happened?"

"Naruto, what color is your chakra naturally?"

"huh, I don't know, something like light blue, I guess." he answered hesitantly as he crossed his arms trying to remember the exact color."

"Something like this, right?" said the chuunin as he gathered chakra into his right hand.

"Yeah, that's it!" The blonde pointed him index at Shikamaru's hand. "That's exactly it!"

"Well this is what I drew out that day." He repeated the same move he did earlier, but the results were different.

"…It's white? That's weird, it doesn't look like wind elemental chakra either."

"That's what I thought, too." he mused

"Hey does that mean you have two types of chakra like I do?"

"Well, to tell you the truth that chakra is weird frankly speaking."

"Weird? How come?"

The chuunin explained himself:

After meeting with Naruto, Shikamaru decided to try draw out this "white chakra" and see what he could do with it. First he tried the tree climbing exercise. He gathered the chakra into his feet and tried climbing the nearest vertical surface there was. The results were confusing: while his feet had better adhesive properties than before, he didn't have the strength to walk up. He decided to switch to water walking instead. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay afloat then either: his feet didn't even stay afloat for a second. It seemed this "white chakra" wasn't chakra at all.

The chuunin was ready to call the whole thing a failure and focus on his study of seals, but something stopped him from doing so; as he looked back towards the river, he noticed that something was missing, namely his wet footprints. The chakra had kept the bottom his feet completely dry. That coupled to the sticking earlier proved something: whatever "it" was, it had the properties of chakra. Since it did, Shikamaru thought that this special kind of chakra could be put to good use.

The first thing he did was to put aside some time between his training and study to get a general feel of the substance in order to differentiate it from his normal chakra. Within a week, he was able to summon either chakra at will. Next he focused on two things: the production of the "white chakra" without resorting to the Absolute Control Technique and a worthwhile application of this new type of energy. The genius had to admit that hadn't quite been able to make the new type of chakra without his jutsu yet, but he was now able to maintain his coils constricted while conscious; it wouldn't take very long for him to control them without wasting chakra.

Obviously, that wasn't the piece of detail that really fascinated the demon container.

"So? Did you create a new jutsu?"

"Well…"

"So you did! Oh, oh! Let me see, let me see!"

"Jeez, Patience is a virtue, you know. Anyways I didn't create _new _techniques, per say: to be precise I made them _different_."

"Really?" said a thoughtful Naruto.

"Well you'll soon see what I'm talking about: we're here."

In fact they were as they were near the edge of the cliff. Below them was the bandit's camp site.

"So, are you going to ambush them like last time?"

"Nope: I have a better plan this time. More important though; I have better assets now. I'm going by the entrance."

Naruto hadn't seen Shikamaru this gutsy since the fight opposing him to Temari. He was looking forward to this.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

There was a bit of agitation in the camp that day. One of the sentries had captured a young girl and had brought her to the lair. At first, they thought she was part of the nearby village they had been tormenting for a while now and hoped they could get a decent ransom out of her. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case; she was but a simple traveler and a poor one at that. The third in command, a huge and mean looking brute made his way to the new captive. He smiled sadistically at what he saw: a sweet, innocent looking teenager. He was looking forward to the agony he'd cause her.

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?" he said as he got closer to his victim. "I'll make you regret ever being born."

The girl shrieked. She was shivering as she brought her tied hands to her mouth.

"I know I'm drop dead gorgeous, but how could you have such impure thoughts? You pervert!"

"Eh! Why would I do that?" The man was taken aback by such a ridiculous supposition. He didn't like the looks of disgust he was getting from the people around him. "I was only thinking of maiming you; honest."

"I can't believe a guy this old would try something so perverted!" said a young, energetic voice.

"Man, that's just sick!" said another, nonchalant voice close to the first one.

"Like I said," insisting on his original intentions, "I just wanted-…"

"Pervert!" exclaimed the girl, effectively cutting him off.

"Wait, I you could just let me explain, I-…"

"I can't believe that sick bastard!" said the voice from before.

"There really seems to be a misunderstanding," insisted the thug.

"Never thought I'd meet one of _those_ people." continued the other voice.

"Wait this isn't-…"

"Woe is me! I don't want to be deflowered by that pig!"

"Hey now, that was kind of unnecessary-…!"

"These are really twisted times were living in."

"You're telling me!"

"Enough!" shouted the burly bandit.

The man was outraged; he'd definitely make that brat pay for ridiculing him. But before that he had to kill the two guys that couldn't shut their traps. It was then he realized a troubling truth; he no idea who those voices belonged to. He looked for the source of those arrogant comments. Near the entrance of the camp were two boys: one was an orange dressed blonde who was picking his ear; the other was a kid with a weird hairstyle in the middle of yawning. They looked vaguely familiar to him. The brute kept thinking there was something important about these two, but he had more pressing matters at hand.

"Intruders! Get them!"

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was telling Naruto to watch as things would get interesting. The genin was tempted to go and satisfy his urge to kick some ass, but the fact that his partner's _improved_ jutsus had yet to be seen were equally appealing. He'd probably have to use them soon; the bandits had left the restrained girl alone and were now converging in their direction. As on cue, the young Nara made a series of hand seals Naruto recognized as being part of the fireball jutsu.

"I already know that one," he whined: "you taught it to me, remember."

"Just shut up and watch." said the chuunin with a smug grin.

He made two additional hand seals got ready. "[Fire Element: Fire Bomb Technique]!" he shouted, before taking a big breath. Out of his mouth came a fireball the size of his head. Naruto was unimpressed until the projectile hit the ground in front of their assailants. As soon as the ball of flame came in contact with the sand, it exploded into a blazing inferno. The shockwave caused by the blast knocked out at least a dozen of the bandits. As for the rest, they were blocked by the fire in front of them. As for Naruto, he was in awe.

As the men on the other side of the flames were trying to extinguish it with sand, Naruto was drooling over Shikamaru's new skill.

"Awesome! Teach it to me!"

"Sorry, but I can't."

"Eh! Why not?"

"I'll explain later. For now, I'll show you another cool thing."

The bandits had doused the fire enough to be able to circle it. Seeing this, the young Nara heir threw one of his light grenades behind him. A couple of seconds later, a blinding light flashed from behind them. When the blonde enquired about the usefulness of such a gadget, Shikamaru told him to look at the ground. He immediately understood the purpose of his partner's tool when he saw the width of his shadow: it was so large it the young shadow user would have no trouble capturing every person on the camp, which was exactly what he did.

"So now what?" asked Naruto. "You can't move and neither can they: you're stuck."

His partner said nothing, but looked amongst the bandits for the bulky brute he had made fun of earlier. Shikamaru remembered him well: it was the same guy that hit him with his mace. When he found him, he brought his hands and focused his chakra as all of the rest of the bandits followed suit. He then crouched: to Naruto's big surprise, only one of the bandits crouched down with his partner; the rest still couldn't move. He made a move to grab an imaginary weapon. The man mimicked his moves and picked up the mace he had left on the ground. A wicked smile appeared on the genius' lips…

It took about three minutes to get rid of the bandits that couldn't move. All that was left in the end was the two shinobi, the mace wielding miscreant, and the girl who had been captured. He walked towards the last bandit. As they got closer, the man's smile grew bigger. This annoyed Shikamaru somewhat.

"Why are you smiling?"

"You know, I figured out the technique of yours: I have to do the exact same thing you're doing right? That means you can't attack me because I have the longer reach! Not to mention, I'm stronger, too!

The young boy said nothing, but took out a kunai with an explosive tag on it and threw it not far from where the bandit was standing. When he saw the explosion, the man stopped smiling.

"You were saying?" asked Shikamaru nonchalantly.

Both stood in stand still for a while… then genius released his Shadow Biding technique. The brute wondered why he was freed. When he looked at the boy who had used him a moment ago, he was taking a defensive stance. Shikamaru then motioned to come and get him by a gesture of the hand. More than happy to comply, the large bandit launched himself at the chuunin.

Naruto looked at the fight with much interest. He knew Shikamaru's level of hand to hand combat from the spars he had with the blonde's clones. After the first set of attacks, he had a pretty good idea of where this face-off was heading: there was no way that bandit could dream to hit his friend with those wide movements. He knew that the only reason this fight wasn't over was because his partner had something in mind… that and he totally sucked at offense.

As he dodged the massive blows the chuunin guided his opponent towards the wall made by the cliff. He had cornered himself. The man, thinking this was the result of his relentless attacks, smiled triumphantly. Judging from the expression of the boy, he knew the brat was in a bad position. He grinned and made a huge swinging motion in Shikamaru's direction. The kid had barely time to duck under the club, which hit the stone wall instead. The genius thought that would take care of his foe's weapon: he was wrong. Not only did the mace did not break, but the blow had left a crack it the wall of cliff.

The club wielding bandit was enjoying the cold sweat he thought the kid was having, but to his big surprise, Shikamaru's grim scowl turned into a smile. The boy pointed the man's mace. He took a quickly glance and saw a note: it was very similar to the tag that was with the kunai when it exploded. Quickly putting two and two together, the thug quickly threw his weapon away. However it was too late; the weapon only had the time to fly a couple of meters before it exploded. The blast sent the man into the wall cliff knocking him out cold.

Naruto was impressed by the whole demonstration. He could see his friend had progressed in more ways than one. He would have never believed Shikamaru would be able to do such a feat a month ago. The young genius had taken the whole group of thieves down, and all by his own, too.

As for the young Nara, he snorted as he rubbed his sore left shoulder.

"'Should've known it'd be that easy! Man, this is such a pain! Next time I'll only train half as much."

"Lazy ass!" teased the blonde.

"heh, I guess I am."

He took a deep breath and looked at the results of his hard work: definitely gratifying. He put his hands in his pockets hand smiled.

"Well, that's that, I guess."

_**The new and improved Shikamaru: a force to be reckoned with! Now, on the next target: Kohaku Hyuuga!**_

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**A/N: ****New Chapter; Enjoy! I hope I was clear enough when I explained Shikamaru's training. Anyways, care to guess what the "white chakra" truly is?**

**PS: Like I said before, the end of this ark is coming to a close soon… so to speak. During my break I was thinking of starting on another project, so I made a poll in order to see which of those would interest you more. Please let me know. Of course, as usual, reviews would be most welcomed as well.**


	16. Setting Out

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**16. The First Mission: ****Setting Out**

_**The bandits are defeated at last! Now all that's left is to tie up the loose ends…**_

Shikamaru took a look at his surroundings: the camp he currently stood in was a complete mess. He looked at the bodies lying around; it was hard to tell if most of them were dead or not. The genius had been careful, but he did not know the strength of the armed brute he had used to cause this havoc. He rubbed his shoulder some more before turning to his partner.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, I guess it was alright," mused the genin. "I would've been done way faster, though."

"Sure you would; it wouldn't have been as cool though."

The blonde snorted. He had to admit the way he played with that last guy was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, the leader of the group wasn't in camp today either. That didn't matter; with this, the bandits had been dealt a lethal blow. If that chief bandit had an ounce of reasoning skills, he probably wouldn't stay in the region for long. In other words, with this raid, their secondary mission was complete.

"By the way," said the young Nara, changing the subject, "did you do what I asked for before we left?"

It took Naruto several seconds to remember the said task. "…You mean leaving a clone in the village? Sure did!"

"Good, have him call the villagers; there's no way in hell we're going to deal with all of those on our own."

The demon container quickly made a clone and dispatched him. With this, the clone back at the village would know of what happened and assemble the villagers in order to bring those thieves to justice. In the mean time, Team Oblivion proceeded to tie up all of the thugs in camp. With Naruto's help, this undertaking took no more than ten minutes. Once that was over, they decided to go back to the Hotel; of course, a couple of clones were left there for safe keeping.

As they prepared to leave however, the genius kept thinking something was missing. As he wondered what he was, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a disturbing shriek. He had barely the time to turn around that he was hugged – or tackled? He couldn't decide on which – by the hostage the group of ruffians had taken earlier.

"That was so awesome! And the way you finished the last guy… so cool!" she squealed.

"Sure… now, would you mind… getting… off… me?" he mumbled as he desperately tried to wrestle his way out of her grasp.

The girl gave him enough space for him to get, but immediately held on to his arm. "The way you waltz in by the entrance was so brave…" she let out in a dreamy tone. "You could've have thought about rescuing me… but it's O.K., I forgive you!"

"Please, don't," he muttered under his breath. He then shot an expressive glance at his partner. "Naruto, help me."

Naruto, who so far had said nothing, seemed to snap out of it at the mention of his name. He first looked at Shikamaru then his eyes trailed towards the girl glued to his arm. The faintest trace of red could be seen. He did not know why, but the genius thought things might get a bit more complicated.

"Hey, that's not fair, Shikamaru!" fumed the genin as he crossed his arms and stomped his feet. "How come you always get the good parts: I kick their ass the first time and all I get to do is save a little kid; but when you do it, you end with a cute girl in your arms!" he protested pointing at the accomplished fact.

"Trust me Naruto: if I could trade with you I'd do so in a heartbeat," replied the boy still trying to pry the girl off his arm.

The hostage _was_ fairly cute, though. He hadn't noticed at first, but taking a closer look at the girl he was stuck with, he started to see why Naruto was so mad; she had looks that could give Ino a run for her money, and Ino was one of the prettiest girls he knew. The young girl he had just saved looked about their age and had a somewhat mischievous expression. Shikamaru thought it matched her character pretty well; from the looks of it she was nothing but trouble. She wore an opened black vest full of pockets with a white, sleeveless top underneath. Under that was a large black baggy short held together at the sides by fishnets. The opening revealed smaller shorts.

All in all, she could rival Sakura or Ino in the looks department while she lost to both in the fashion sense, though. Her not being a ninja, and therefore not able to kick their asses added to her innocence and was yet another asset. However, the chuunin directed his reproving glance towards the heavens; _it just __**had**__ to be a girl, huh?_

She finally let go of the chuunin in order to get closer to Naruto. She brought her arms behind her in an innocent way.

"Oh! Were you hoping to receive some thanks as well?" she asked in a coy manner.

The genin face at started to turn red with the overload of cuteness. "Uh… y-yeah, something like that."

The girl simply threw her arms around him. "Thanks for doing absolutely nothing to save me: While I was tied there, defenseless, you just stupidly watched the fight; what could I have ever done without you?"

As they broke from the hug, the blonde felt like he had died a little inside. Shikamaru simply shivered: in a way this girl was scarier than Ino or even that wind user. He had only one word to describe the way she had played with Naruto: evil. The genin tried to appease the girl.

"W-wait; it's not like he needed some help; I almost took them out by myself last time as well." He explained, poking his fingers in a sheepish manner.

"Liar!"

"He's right." finally said Shikamaru: it looked like that there was a way out of this mess yet. "Naruto here his stronger than I am; In fact, he already took down that whole camp be himself before."

"Really…?" she asked doubtful.

"Of course," said Naruto, back to his prideful self. "I took them down just like that." he boasted, suddenly making clones of himself to show how prestigious his skills were.

"Wow, so cool!" sparkle could be seen in the girl's eyes, the same kind Toshiro had when he saw the jutsu. She quickly shook her head however, as if she was fighting some sort of temptation. "D-don't think that cool trick will make me forgive you!" she stated with somewhat less assurance than before. "You still did nothing in the end to help me, right Mr. hero?"

She directed the direction towards her savior, but she was now facing yet another of Naruto's shadow clones. Behind him, a black haired kid could be seen running for his dear life. Decided not to let her hero escape, the girl quickly ran after him while shouting

"Humph! You're not running from me that easily, Mr. hero!"

In the mean time, one of the shadow clones moved towards the original.

"Don't call off your clones yet; have them keep an eye on the bandits until the villagers arrive."

The Kyuubi holder blinked before finally understanding what had happened. "Shikamaru, 'that you?"

"Of course it is!" hissed the chuunin under the Transformation Technique. "But my clone won't last that long, so let's get the hell out of here before that troublesome girl comes back!"

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The village was now in their sights. Shikamaru sighed: soon they'd be leaving this place. It was sooner than had expected though. He turned to look at his partner: he'd had been rather quiet during the trip back. He wondered if this unusual behavior had to do with a certain red head so he asked his friend if he was alright.

"Well do you think we did the right thing? I mean, leaving that girl like that?"

"Trust me she's fine by herself," answered the genius a bit hastily. He took a deep breath. "She'd be more trouble than you think if she had followed us."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"Just that: don't you think there was something wrong about her?"

"No, not really, she was cute though." he answered as tinges of pink reached his cheeks.

The chuunin mentally slapped himself. "Anything else?"

"No, not really."

"Can you answer me this then? How was she when we first entered the camp?"

"She was tied up because she was a hostage. Nothing wrong with that, in a way…"

"Exactly: remember when I told that I felt like I had forgotten something earlier?" the blonde nodded. "Well, _we forgot to untie the hostage._"

Naruto's ninja reasoning quickly kicked in: either Shikamaru was wrong and they indeed freed the girl before, or there was something horribly wrong. And judging by the fact that he could not remember noticing the hostage before she had "hugged" his friend… There's no way things could happen in that order if she was still tied in the beginning. There were few options left; one of them was the most obvious: she was also a shinobi

The demon container wondered if she really was a kunoichi. His partner didn't think so; she hadn't given the impression of being one. There was something else that made him think that way, but he kept that idea for himself. If she truly was a shinobi however, she became a much more serious problem. The only cases a kunoichi like her would be traveling by herself would be because of a solo mission, which would mean she was at least of chuunin rank; or because she was a lost nin. Both were bad things.

"Shouldn't we check her out then?"

"'You out of your mind!? We've already been sidetracked out of a _deadly S-rank mission_ to save a village from bandits and we nearly _died._ Not to mention our training is far from being completed. The last thing we need is to face yet another danger."

"So, we're going to hide here for a while then?"

"No, we're leaving today. Chances are that girl will meet with the villagers. If she has the stupid idea of following them back…"

Naruto nodded, but the news seemed to depress him. He even looked like he was about to cry.

"What's wrong?" asked the mildly concerned chuunin.

"Well… I'll have to say goodbye to that hotel room," Naruto admitted, heartbroken.

The chuunin put and understanding hand on his friend's shoulder: this was probably the last time they'd have such an opportunity. They both had the idea to hasten their pace; the team needed to enjoy their last time at the hotel as much as possible. There they headed back to their own rooms in order to pack. Naruto had basically left Konohagakure with his clothes for sole luggage, so he helped Shikamaru instead, which didn't take long either. Once that was over they ordered a huge meal and stuffed themselves while watching the latest action movie. They made sure to use every feature available to them during the next hour. After making sure they would be leaving without any regrets, the shinobi proceeded to solemnly leave the room.

Since it was such a grave matter to them, luck would have it that it would be ruined in some fashion: when the team opened the door the room in order to leave the hotel, they found two figured kneeling on the floor. Naruto recognized the first one for the nurse he had met yesterday, so he figured the man next to the young woman was her father.

"What do you want now," asked the annoyed shinobi; "can't you see we're leaving already?"

"That's not it; my father as something to tell you."

"Right," said the man as he looked at his daughter for some sort of confirmation. "I'm terribly sorry with what I've done with your merchandise. I promise I'll make up for it."

"Well gee, that's nice and all, but, it's my father's business: you should be apologizing to him. Beside, like I told you before: I'm leaving now."

With this piece of news, the man seemed to breathe freely.

"That being said, I'm afraid I've already sent a report to my dad."

"What!?" the pharmacy director nearly choked on the statement

"But why? I thought you said you didn't care." pleaded the young woman with a hint of reproach.

Once again his partner looked at him questionably. The chuunin shrugged: so much for solidarity.

"Gimme a break: I'm the heir of the freaking clan! Do you have an idea of what they'd do to me if they heard that I let slide something that serious? At _best_ I'd be disowned." _Fat chance, _he thought bitterly:_ my mom would utterly kill me before that…_ "Anyways, I sure am not going to risk getting into that kind of trouble because of a guy who's been ruining the clan's reputation."

It was Naruto's turn to shrug: he'd have done the same thing considering the circumstances. It wasn't like that man deserved to be saved after such a behavior. And if that wasn't enough, Shikamaru took out a scroll out of his bag and gave it to his friend. It was a reply from his father; not only did he already know about the incident, which was nothing new, he had been informed through Kakashi of their itinerary: needless to say he had expected such a missive. Even the nurse had to admit the young heir couldn't be blamed for his action. However that didn't help her father.

"Please," begged the man, face against the floor, "isn't there anything you can do to help me?"

The kid pondered on the director's crisis for a moment. He then shrugged. "Well, I know that official representatives will be coming here in order to inspect the pharmacy and issue the fitting measures. Since in your case it's only a matter of price, maybe they might let it slide if by the time of the visit you had lowered your prices to… well, I dunno… maybe _half the selling price_?

"H-half the selling price!? But that's…"

"…wasn't that the price you said he bought the merchandise in the first place!?" finished the girl, as dumbfounded by the announcement as her father.

"Exactly; of course, you wouldn't sell at profit, but at least you wouldn't be selling at loss, either," he explained nonchalantly. "The problem is: I have no idea what they might look like or when they might come, so I guess you'll have to lower them for a while."

"A while…?"

He wanted to ask more, but his daughter was looking at him menacingly. Still, his avarice got the better of him and before the shinobi could leave, he approached him.

"I beg your pardon, but how long should I keep my prices down?"

"Judging by the fact that I know my clan is kind of lazy, I'd say no more than six month."

"SIX MONTHS!?"

"Of course, you'll want to sell your wares at their true price after that."

The pharmacy owner really looked like he was losing consciousness. He staggered back a couple of steps, clutching his head, and then fell on his knees.

"But that's… that's…"

"Not enough to put you in any kind of trouble if you ask me: after all, you've been overpricing the medicine for about three years, now."

"THREE YEARS!?" raged Megumi. She grabbed her father by the collar and began to shake the man violently. "You mean you've been robbing the villagers, for three long years!? I swear, when mother hears about this…"

Shikamaru didn't want to interrupt their "reunion", but he did feel bad for the poor director. After all, it was thanks to him he had lodged in such a place for a month. He coughed in order to get the attention of the nurse: Megumi immediately entered nurse mode and rushed towards the boy, leaving the pharmacy owner shaking uncontrollably by his own. Naruto got close to the poor man and squatted near him.

"Man, you daughter sure is rough."

"You think _she's_ rough!? You have no idea what her mother's like…" he said, now more worried about his immediate future than the money he'd surely lose.

_Poor guy_, Naruto thought, _wouldn't want to be in his place anytime soon…_

Meanwhile, the nurse's concern was giving Shikamaru a headache.

"Are you all right? Did you eat anything funny? Maybe you should come by the clinic and…"

"I'm perfectly fine, thanks." uttered the chuunin, more afraid than annoyed by her sudden change in temperament. "It's just that we're kind of in a hurry, so if you mind, you know… taking your "discussion" somewhere else?"

"Oh" a bright shade of pink could gradually be seen on her face. "I'm sorry about all the trouble we've been causing you. Don't worry, I'll make sure he behaves," she said as she bowed, then picked up her father by the ear. "So, where are you going to sleep now?"

"Actually, our job here is done; so we're leaving the village today."

"Huh? You already took down the bad guys… again!?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Naruto, glad to join the conversation on familiar terrain. "We're on a big mission right now; the sooner we move out, the better."

Disappointment could be seen on her face, but she didn't object. The two boys waved them goodbye and set out of the hotel. Once they left the building, they made sure to buy some rations; of course it included a large quantity of instant ramen for a certain someone. After that Shikamaru went to the pharmacy in order to take hold of some herbs they'd certainly need after the confrontation of their target – free of charge, of course.

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They were close to the gates of the village when they were literally assaulted by an army of kids led by none other than Toshiro. They plan was simple; to swarm their target until he couldn't move anymore. Shikamaru watched in amusement as his partner crumbled under the weight of so many children. The blonde gave him a glare.

"Help me instead of not doing anything, you lazy ass!"

"Wish I could, but it looks like they won't let me," he answered smirking mischievously.

He himself was surrounded by a dozen of kids, all pointing sticks at him in a menacingly cute manner. Never mind the fact that they didn't have a chance of hitting him unless he wanted to or that he could simply use the Body Replacement or Body Flicker technique in order to escape: he simply wanted revenge for the fact that Naruto had taken the nurse's side earlier.

"Come on, get off me you damn brats!" yelled Naruto as he vainly struggled out of the compact mass of kids.

"No way are we letting you move!" replied their commander standing a few feet away from the downed ninja, "Not until you promise to stay here with us!"

"Yeah, please don't leave mister," said one of his comrades, "you're so fun to play with."

"Even your grumpy friend is funny at times."

"Hey!" said the grumpy friend, his eye twitching.

However, Naruto had had enough of being crushed. He remembered his weights training and began focusing chakra throughout his body. Then, to the utter bewilderment of everyone present save a certain chuunin, the blonde picked himself up. The kids, knowing any further attempt would be fruitless backed away. As for Toshiro he stood up against his friend, arms outstretched, in order to prevent him from leaving.

"You can't go yet; don't you have to take care of the bad guys!"

"Actually," said the genin an arrogant tone, "I did just that a while ago."

Shikamaru coughed.

"Well… _he_ did just that a while ago" admitted Naruto. "Damn lazy ass bastard!" he then muttered.

Toshiro had no arguments left, yet he still protested. This lasted another few moments until he was interrupted in his protest by a woman's voice. Team Oblivion turned around to see the kid's mom… accompanied by pretty much all the villagers that hadn't participate in the bandit's lair expedition. Shikamaru sighed: he thought this was due to the commotion created by the kid until he saw none other than the nosy nurse herself. In fact he could see her father with her amongst the crowd. To her right was a woman holding an iron grip on the pharmacy owner: _probably the mother,_ he thought, not without some pity towards the poor fool.

Toshiro rushed to his mom in order to ask for her help. The woman tried to calmly explain to her child that their mission accomplished, the shinobi had other people to save. "But mom", bawled the kid, frustrated by his helplessness, "He's _my_ friend! I don't want him to leave! It's not fair!"

Naruto felt his eyes were starting to water, so he turned around. This scene only served to remind him of the painful situation he was facing back home. Thinking about what he could be confronted to when he'd return; he couldn't help but shed some tears. Being called a friend by Toshiro had reminded him he had lost his not too long ago. He wanted to promise this kid he'd come back, but how could he be sure when he didn't even know if he'd make it out alive of his own village?

The whole situation didn't go unnoticed to the chuunin. He approached Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder, as if he was saying: "don't worry I'll take care of it." The blonde didn't know if he meant he'd take care of the Konoha problem, this kid, or both, but he was glad to be reminded he wasn't completely alone. Shikamaru then faced the kid.

"Stop your whining, kid; it's not like he's not gonna come back."

"Huh? You guys are gonna come back!?" he quickly wiped his tears away.

"Him? Probably. Don't count on me to do so, though; why should I come back to hear your whining?"

"Who's crying!?" he asked now angry. "And I don't care about you anyway, so don't come back, you stupid jerk!

"Heh, whatever you say, kid."

Toshiro was going to yell at him some more, but he was quickly gagged by the hands of Megumi.

"Please don't pay attention to him, Shikamaru. You and your friend are welcome here any time."

Not wanting to linger any longer, the shinobi turned around and headed out of the village, quickly followed by his partner. As they walked, they were cheered on by all the villagers. Shikamaru gave a side look at Naruto, who was still crying, and they both waved back without looking at the people whishing them farewell. They walked straight ahead until they had left a sufficient amount of distance between them and the village.

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Naruto had been quiet during the journey; it took him a while before his tears dried. As they left the fields to enter a rocky road, he suddenly stopped and sat in order to look at the scenery. Worried, his friend sat next to him, saying nothing. He didn't want play the therapist, so he hoped Naruto would eventually snap out of it on his own. Unfortunately for him, the boy looked in his direction. The chuunin braced himself.

"Toshiro… he called me his friend." The simple mention of the word "friend" was enough to give his face a pained expression. "What if… what if they aren't my friends when I get back?"

There was no need for Shikamaru to figure out which "friends" the blonde was talking about; since he was part of the whole incident he knew very well the Kyuubi host could only be talking about his true teammates.

"You know, maybe you should focus more on what you'll do in order to get back in the first place; we're still on a S-rank mission after all." When he saw this had no effect on his friend he sighed. "Man, how troublesome! They will be your friends when you get back," he affirmed with resolution;

"You're just saying stuff. They know about me now, about the demon inside; I bet the only reason Toshiro wants me as a friend is…"

"Wrong!" cut in the chuunin. "That kid already saw you at your worst; _I_ already saw you at your worst and last time I checked we were both your friends. If Sasuke and Sakura resent you when you come back, that means they were never your friends to begin with. You'll just have to accept that."

"But it'll never work! How can we work as a team when it looks like they won't ever trust me again?"

"You can't." he acknowledged "That's why if they don't accept you as who you are, the first thing I'll do when we get back is to make sure you get reassigned in Team Ten."

Naruto was startled by the last statement. "You mean you can do that?"

"Dunno. But between me, Asuma and Kakashi, you can bet it'll be good as done. We'll just have to exchange Ino. Actually, that's a win-win situation right there: I don't get to hear her stupid nagging anymore, and she gets to be closer to her "dear Sasuke"." He said, hopeful of a world where he wouldn't have to deal with the bossy girl.

Naruto watched how his friend described his plan. From his explanation, he could tell the young boy had been thinking about it for a while. He cut off Shikamaru in the middle of his ingenious strategy to make Sakura and Sasuke pay for their idiocy.

"Shikamaru, why are you doing this? This isn't your problem; it's mine."

"Naruto, you're a fellow shinobi _and_ you're my friend, and as painfully troublesome as it sounds for me, your problems are too much for an idiot like you to handle, so guess I have to do it for you."

"Shikamaru…" was he all he could say before his vision blurred because of the tears.

His partner grinned. "Would you knock it off with your crying? Man! and I thought that snotty brat was a crybaby."

"Shut up! I'm not crying! It's just dust in my eye!" retorted the blonde as he clumsily tried to hide his tears.

"…Huh uh, sure, Naruto. Anyways we can't stay here; we have to find a good place to camp."

The pair got up and set out once again. As they walked, Naruto shot side glances at his teammate from time to time. He had always considered Shikamaru as a good comrade, a guy to share a bowl of ramen with at most; recently his opinion had changed: to him he became as important in his life as Iruka, the Third, and his own team: he was someone who acknowledged him as another human being. Today, however, blonde learned that Shikamaru was a true friend. He knew he could trust the boy beside him with his life, and that was good thing to know. He felt like a huge burden had been taken of his shoulders; once again someone had taken him out of the hell of loneliness

Maybe things wouldn't go back to how they were between Naruto and Team Seven, but at least now it wouldn't be the end of the world; with Shikamaru at his side things would definitely workout.

_**Burning with new resolve and power, our heroes set out into the unknown. Onwards to new adventures!**_

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**A/N: I'm late, yes, I know. I'm really sorry. I might try to make it up to you guys between this and the next few weeks. I make no promises however.**

**About the "white chakra": Well, it's definitely not Mana. I still want to keep Naruto somewhat Naruto-ish, if you get what I mean. It's not Kakashi's special-white-chakra either, because I have absolutely no idea how it works in the first place. I can give you a tip though: Adamrpg is quite close to what it really is. Actually, he'd be right a couple of weeks ago, but certain things didn't make sense so I made a slight change. Think you can figure out what it is now?**

**PS: Like I said before, the end of this ark is coming to a close soon… so to speak. During my break I was thinking of starting on another project, so I made a poll in order to see which of those would interest you more. If you guys are interested, please, visit my profile and let me know. Of course, as usual, reviews would be most welcomed as well.**


	17. Detour

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**17****. The First Mission: Detour**

_**The team finally leaves the village… Wait a sec! Will we ever get to know the village's name!?**_

"So, where are we going, captain?"

"We're heading towards the west, to the rice country."

"You'll think he'll be there, captain?"

"I dunno; my guess is that place is as good as any to look for him. Oh, and Naruto…?"

"Yes, captain?"

"Stop calling me captain, it's annoying the hell out of me."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"… Just go die."

It had been a couple of days since the duo had left the village and they had been traveling west ever since. The long distance between them and their next stop was actually a good thing: it permitted the team to settle some things on the way as well as plan ahead their actions.

The first thing the team did after Naruto recovered from their departure was to camouflage their forehead protectors: Shikamaru had already discussed with the genin about the difficulties that lied in being instantly recognizable as shinobi. If their adventure in the village was proof enough, the less people knew about their profession, the better. Of course it would also be better for them in order to approach Kohaku Hyuuga himself.

Of course Naruto objected: in his definition of shinobi, helping people held a great deal of importance. Shikamaru was already prepared for that remark however; if people needed help, they could always reveal themselves or send a request to Konoha. The only important thing was for them to remain undercover in order not to attract too much unwanted attention. The compromise seemed fair to Naruto, so he agreed

Their next subject of discussion was training.

"So, when are you going to teach that cool exploding fire ball skill, huh?" asked Naruto.

"The Fire Bomb Technique? I thought I already told that I couldn't." exasperation could clearly be noticed in his tone.

"Well, what do mean, you can't?"

The chuunin bluntly told him it took recomposed fire elemental chakra in order to use it, so there was no chance for it to work. Normally, the discussion should have ended there, but that wasn't enough to convince Naruto. He objected that he had learned the Fireball technique and even made it better, so there had to be a way for him to learn it. Shikamaru sighed; he wondered if the boy had already forgotten what he had already explained about elemental mastery. When he tried to repeat that explanation, the blonde simply waved it off with a gesture of his hand.

"I know about that already! Tell me why I can use a fire type jutsu in the beginning." demanded the genin.

"You can't be serious," said the chuunin in disbelief.

"What now? I didn't say anything stupid, did I?"

"Naruto," he asked carefully, "you _do_ have knowledge of how seals and chakra are supposed to work, _right_?"

"Of course I do!" replied the energetic boy. Shikamaru looked at Naruto with the clear intention calling out his bluff. "Actually no, I don't." he finally admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

He mentally slapped himself. Naruto was a dropout like him: of course he wouldn't retain anything from the academy lessons! Besides, even if he had studied it wouldn't have been nearly enough. From what he knew about Naruto, the boy was below average went it came to academics, and if there was conclusion he had made from observing the chuunin exams, it was that "average" wasn't an option. It didn't seem like Naruto minded either way; the genius didn't think all that knowledge would be useful to "kick-ass-first-think-later" Naruto anyway. He looked at the sky with a resigned smile.

"So Naruto, tell me then: what _did_ you learn during your time with Iruka?"

"Hum, well I learned about the Hokage, and the tree basic jutsu…"

"…And?"

"Well, I already told you about the other things I learned. That's pretty much it actually."

"I thought as much…" he mumbled.

"…What? And what about my answer?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just gimme a sec."

Teaching Naruto was a hurdle in itself: Naruto was clearly a practical type of person and easily distracted at that. One had to dumb down the material enough for an eight year old to be able to understand it without taking out anything that could actually be practical for the genin. Furthermore, it was necessary for Naruto to be entertained throughout the whole lesson. The best Shikamaru had found to answer those demands was by questioning Naruto on a subject he liked. From that subject he guided him into the direction he wanted to go in.

"Remember what I told about elemental recomposition and a shinobi's nature?"

"A little…" said the blonde, trying to remember the said conversation

"Remember what I told you about mastering all the elements?"

"Yeah!" The boy had finally remembered the topic. "You said that it was incredibly hard to learn all of them."

"Well there's a way to "cheat", if you could say it that way."

"The hand seals, you mean?"

"Exactly." The chuunin was relieved to see Naruto was quickly catching on.

Basically, hand seals were used to help mold the chakra and the jutsu itself in the desired way. The more complex the maneuver, more hand signs it would require. One of the most common and practical uses of this was precisely for elemental recomposition. Those special hand seals serve to recompose a certain element nature instead of the shinobi. It also boosted the power of those who have already mastered their element.

"Oh, so that's why I could learn the Fireball Jutsu!" concluded Naruto.

"Yep, that's it in a nutshell."

But there was more to add on the subject: for example, he pointed to the genin that for most part, when a shinobi had completely mastered and understood a jutsu, most hand seals became useless since he could mold the chakra by himself. Such was the case for his Shadow Bind Jutsu. This particular trait was quite handy: not only did it hasten the formation of the jutsu, but it prevented others from copying it. In fact, it remained one of the reasons Kakashi or any Uchiha for that matter, had never been able to copy most secret jutsu like the Nara clan's Shadow arts. Unfortunately, that last part was impossible for things like jutsu from a nature not yet mastered.

Naruto didn't care about the last part, but he was greatly interested in the idea of performing jutsu without using seals.

"So basically, I'd be able to use the Breakthrough Jutsu without hand seals, huh?"

"Yeah, but should at least keep the hand seal for wind manipulation, just to strengthen the jutsu."

The blonde was going to comment on that last part when he heard a pained grunt. Both shinobi looked to their left: down the slope beside the road an old man was trying to pull up what looked like a loaded, but horseless cart. The duo quickly got down the slope in order to see what was wrong: from the little information they could get from the scene, it was clear that this cart had a horse a little while ago.

"Are you alright?" asked Shikamaru

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Unfortunately I can't same the same for my poor cart, though."

Not that there was anything wrong with the cart itself but the fact that it lacked something essential, like a horse, it was easy to conclude that something happened.

"So, old man; what are you doing here?"

The old man simply blinked. Shikamaru quickly hit his partner and tried to correct the lack of tact of his teammate.

"Sorry for his rudeness. I'm Shikamaru and this is Naruto." He said, pointing at the blonde who was rubbing his head. "Would mind telling us where you were heading, sir?"

The man laughed softly before replying. "Don't worry about it, son! I really am just an old man after all! The name's Daichi."

The man explained he was a merchant who had just sold his wares in the Rice Field country. He was heading back to his hometown near the Wave country when he was ambushed by thieves. The duo exchanged a glance.

"Let's help him."

"Sure, why not?" the chuunin looked at the cart and scratched his head. "Sir, I know it might be a pain, but we'll take you with us to the Rice Field country. Maybe there you be able to find yourself a horse for your cart. If you want, we could help carry the cart there."

"I suppose this is the best course of action, huh?" said the man bitterly.

"We're not going to do that!" claimed the blonde with enthusiasm.

"We're not… going to do that?" asked the Nara heir.

"Nope, we're escorting him back to his hometown right now."

"We're…?" Shikamaru didn't even finish the sentence for fear of Naruto's idiocy being somehow contagious. "You're doing this on purpose, right? We're at a half a day's walk from the Rice Country, _our destination_, and you want us to escort that man for a three day walk towards the Wave country!?"

"So? We can't leave the man to himself can't we?" snapped Naruto

"…Hence, getting to the Rice country in order to find a _horse, _which, in case you didn't notice, allows him to travel with his cart."

"I hate to say it," added Daichi, "but your friend is right: it would be better for us to go back."

"So, we're just going to let him leave on his own again?"

"If you want, from there we can even escort him home... _After_ we do what we were supposed to do in the first place."

"But that'll take too long," whined the blonde. "Besides, you told me that the Rice country was as better as any other place; why not go to his town instead?"

"Because, in case you forgot – again – there is still the matter of the cart. Or are you planning to drag the cart by yourself?"

"Actually, that's exactly what I'll do!"

Both the old man and the black haired boy looked at the blonde in confusion as he headed for the cart. It was only when Naruto tried to grab the shaft that Shikamaru understood his intentions. However knowing his teammate…

"Wait, Naruto! Don't pull up the cart!"

But the young boy seemed not to hear him, and as he pulled the shaft…

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"Shikamaru?"

"…"

The team was now heading towards the Wave country. Naruto was pulling the cart, like he wanted and besides him was a quiet Shikamaru. The cart owner was sitting on the cart himself checking out his wares.

"I'm really sorry."

"…it's fine."

He was lying: even Naruto could tell. The chuunin was bruised all over and even though his scowl hadn't changed much, the genin could tell he was in a bad mood. He had every reason to: all of this was the genin fault.

And yet he had warned Naruto to wait before trying to lift the shaft. Shikamaru knew his friend would use the full power of his weights training in order to move the load and realized he could very well destroy the vehicle. He tried his best to get his attention, but boy wouldn't listen and as a result, used so much force the cart nearly flipped over. Because of that, most of the objects inside the cart were ejected and fell on the unfortunate chuunin

"I thought you were trying to stop me, you know?"

"I was: from doing something like that." he sighed. "I don't care: the money for everything you broke is coming out of your pockets."

The genin gulped. He thought about his poor frog wallet for a while. His moody reflections were interrupted by the old man who had just finished examining his belongings.

"Good news, it seems everything is in one piece."

Naruto couldn't express how relieved he was to hear the news. Shikamaru simply snorted. As for Daichi, he couldn't but be impressed by Naruto's strength; after all, the blonde was currently dragging him along with the cart with relative ease. The demon container tried to boast about his ninja training, but was stopped by his partner who stomped his foot in order to get his attention. When he saw that he almost messed up, he left Shikamaru in charge of the explanation.

The chuunin explained Naruto was simply a farmer's kid with abnormal strength. Having grown next in the farm next to his, Shikamaru could vouch this unique trait ran in their family. The explanation seemed farfetched, especially since Naruto didn't look like a farmer judging from his clothes, but since he had no reason to doubt them, the old cart owner didn't pursue the subject any further. Shikamaru kept the conversation flowing by asking about the bandits.

The man gave them a brief description of the small group of thieves and of the man he thought to be their leader. Once again the duo exchanged a glance: there was a chance they were jumping to conclusions, but the description of the old man was very close to that of the chief bandit they had met a month ago.

"Any idea where they were headed," asked the chuunin.

"No; they asked me where I lived though."

"Really…" said Naruto. He had an uneasy feeling about the situation.

"Yes. Also I remember them mentioning something about setting a new base." Daichi realized by himself what that could mean. "You don't think…?"

"That could very well be the case, I'm afraid," answered Shikamaru. He then turned to his teammate. "It looks like you had the right idea in the end, Naruto."

"I seems to you have unfinished business with those men," stated Daichi.

Shikamaru nodded. He explained their village located to the east near the Lightning country had been under the attack of thieves until recently, and that their leader was still at large. He was after them in order to retrieve a precious item they stole from him and had requested Naruto's help for the task. Naruto was impressed by his teammate: he had artistically woven together a believable story out of the recent events that had happened on short notice which tied nicely with his earlier statement of them being farmers. As for the man, news of the incident had reached his town. He was impressed by the courage and determination of such small kids, but worry could be seen on his face.

"Aren't kind of young to take on bandits?"

"I guess you're right. I wouldn't think twice about going after them if not for him," he said, pointing at his partner.

The villager admitted to himself that a boy with such physical aptitude was certainly a force to be reckoned with. He dropped any idea of objecting to their plan and thanked them once again for their help.

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The trip to the old man's hometown would indeed take three days, as Shikamaru expected. It would have taken less time if they were traveling by themselves as shinobi, but since they not only had to escort a civilian but carry his cart as well; their pace had significantly slowed down. If that wasn't enough, they were also undercover, so any ninja related activity was out of question, even discussion. This annoyed Naruto to no end. The fact that he couldn't train while traveling was already a reason for him to be glum. Now that he couldn't even talk about it, he all he did all day was sulk and complain about his boredom. Only at night or when the old man fell asleep during the day did Naruto regain his good humor, since he could then question his friend on the various topics that held his interest.

One of these topics was the mission: Naruto was curious about the reason Shikamaru insisted on going only to certain villages. The chuunin replied these places were the only ones where a shinobi could be able to remain hidden, especially in the case of Kohaku Hyuuga. Seeing confusion written all over his friend's face, the young genius continued. The fact that a Hyuuga was part of the Bingo Book was in itself something of importance.

This was a big issue considering the Hyuuga clan was one of the most powerful clans of all the shinobi nations. The simple prospect of capturing one of them alive was reason enough for most hidden villages to send their best hunter nin after him. Of course, knowing this, Konoha was even more desperate to capture him, hence the abnormal number of people that had tried to take on that mission. Since he was such a big target, it was impossible for Kohaku to be hiding in a hidden village or one of the main shinobi countries, which only left the many towns Shikamaru had the intention of visiting. Of course, he could still be on the run, but after being wanted for more than seven years the Nara heir figured he had probably tried disappear altogether.

"Wait, You're telling me that guy has been able to escape all of these people for more than seven years!?"

"He wouldn't be an S-rank criminal otherwise. And that's the kind of guy we're up against," complained Shikamaru. "Still think we can take him?" He was hopeful Naruto would drop the silly idea.

"Man, I can't wait to see the face Iruka will make once we show up with an S-rank criminal!"

Instead, of being worried, the blonde was burning with anticipation. The more mature of the two shinobi looked at his partner with disbelief before sighing: Naruto was definitely a lost cause.

Shikamaru, although against the idea at first, welcomed the slow pace as it gave him more time to think. Two things occupied his mind besides the feeling of impending doom he had decided to ignore: The training of Team Oblivion and their home village.

As proud as he was of the progress they had made, he knew they had reached a wall: while true they hadn't reached the end of the tasks they had set, he couldn't see what to after those would be completed. They needed more experienced advice on the matter, which would be hard to find if there mission continued. His only hope was to convince Kakashi, Asuma or his father to got out of their way meet with them and monitor their progress, if only for a while. Fat chance: by a twisted joke from fate, the only people the young Nara could trust were either lazy, unreliable or both.

There was also the issue with the "White chakra" and the studies on seals he had undertaken. Right now he couldn't tell if his new found jutsu enhancements were due to his special chakra or if they could be learned without them. Sure they had only worked now because of his new discovery, but maybe this was only due to the modifications themselves. He would have gladly tested his theory on Naruto, unfortunately, his studies only touched the various seals concerning the Fireball jutsu. Furthermore, Shikamaru hadn't bothered learning the Breakthrough Technique, meaning he couldn't modify the wind type jutsu in order for his friend to confirm or refute his theory.

And then there was the whole Konoha incident. The boy knew Genta would be waiting for them when they came back: a man with that much power and influence wouldn't abandon his projects so easily, and he definitively had plans for the Kyuubi host. Problem was, as long as he didn't know what this plan was, he had no way of devising a counter measure. His father seemed to have a general idea of those projects, but since he hadn't revealed anything precise, the boy had to suppose Shikaku didn't know precisely what the council member intended to do with his friend. Of course the genius had though about certain countermeasures and he knew as well he was backed up by his father and Kakashi who were more knowledgeable than him in that prospect, but he still couldn't chase the unease he felt about the man's enigmatic actions.

And if that wasn't enough, the real factor that would make or break Naruto's happy return home wasn't even Genta; it was his friends. He still couldn't get over how tactless the blonde's teammates had been during the whole ordeal. Though a part of him wanted to get rid of Ino, he knew deep down the best in the blonde's interest was from him to reinstate Team Seven. That wasn't all however; he knew how the two young Hyuuga and Choji felt about Naruto, but he had no idea how the rest of the Rookies felt, or Tenten, or Rock Lee, or Konohamaru. The only thing he was grateful for was that Genta wasn't cruel enough to pit the whole town against him and only informed the shinobi. In any case, once they got back home, he'd have to monitor the Kyuubi host for a while, if only to make sure he'd keep a low profile.

That is, _if_ they made it back.

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"Ha! Look boys, we finally made it: this is my village!" said a joyous Daichi. "May I present to you the Merchant Village of the Coast Line country.

Naruto nodded, yet he didn't smile.

"Something wrong, Naruto?" asked Shikamaru.

The blonde shook his head. He didn't want to show it, but he had secretly hoped to visit the Wave country. He was looking forward to seeing Tazuna and Inari again. It didn't matter though; he'd coax Shikamaru into visiting the town soon enough.

The group entered the town. A glance was enough for the team to be convinced this was indeed a merchant village: shops and wares could be found around them as far as the eye could see. Of course many a villager turned in their direction to look in disbelief at the blonde dragging a cart like he was a horse. Naruto simply shrugged it off: this was way less uncomfortable than the last town they visited.

Shikamaru felt it'd be hard for him to find a cheap hotel in such a place. Such a town usually expected its visitors to be full of money just waiting to be spent on their most of the time vain merchandise. Seeing their distress, the man offered his help.

"Don't worry about sleeping tonight, boys. There is enough room in my house for the two of you."

Daichi's told them he lived with his son in a house near the center of the town. The three of decided to head there as soon as possible: the trip had been tiring; especially for Naruto who had been pulling the cart all the way here. Even with that in mind, the blonde wanted to stop at the closest ramen stand. Fortunately, Shikamaru didn't want to hear about it.

They were close to the old man's house when they heard a huge commotion. After exchanging a glance, Naruto set down his load and followed Shikamaru to the source of the racket. At their destination the scene they had feared would happen was taking place: The leader of the bandits had taken a family hostage while his accomplices were pilfering the nearby shops.

Shikamaru was assessing the situation when a man, apparently blind, stumbled into the scene and had been brutally shoved into the pack of hostages. Naruto wanted to jump into the fray, but he was stopped by his partner.

"Don't do anything hasty! It would be bad if those bandits recognized us."

"But… we can't just stay put and do nothing," he whispered loudly.

"Yeah, I know." he admitted. He expression suddenly changed

"What's wrong?"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't wait long for answer: he himself noticed how quiet the surrounding townsfolk had become. Instead of the panicked villagers he had seen only a moment ago, Naruto had the impression he was by spectators waiting for the main event to begin.

It was at that moment that Daichi arrived, panting.

"So," he asked while trying to catch his breath, "what going on?"

"You tell me." replied the black haired shinobi as he pointed at the direction of the bandits.

The old man looked alarmed at the sight of the bandits, but when he saw the hostages, a grin appeared on his face.

"So, the show's about to begin, eh?"

"I was afraid of that," said the chuunin who had began to sweat heavily.

"What? What's going on Shikamaru?"

"Something bad," he said with a wry smile, "something very bad."

_**What could be worse than the return of those bandits!? It seems Team Oblivion's troubles are far from over.**_

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**A/N: ****New Chapter! Read and enjoy.**

**Also, Cyber cookies for wingsofeagle and RogerDering for figuring out what the "white chakra" was. Special mention to adamrpg and wingsofeagle (again) those other guesses were pretty much what I intended the "white chakra" to be in the first place.**

**PS: ****The end of this ark is coming to a close soon… During my break I was thinking of starting on another project, so I made a poll in order to see which of those would interest you more. If you guys are interested, please, visit my profile and let me know. Of course, as usual, reviews would be most welcomed as well.**


	18. Blind

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**18. The First Mission****: Blind**

_**An unexpected development in the Village of Merchants; what's in store for our two shinobi?**_

Naruto crossed his arms and started to stomp his feet; he hated being in the dark. Currently bandits were pilfering the town and holding people hostage, yet the townsfolk did nothing but stand there whispering to each other like they were the assistance some sort of amazing show. Daichi, the merchant they had escorted back here was sharing the anticipation. Even Shikamaru seemed to be in the know, even though his traits gave the blonde the impression that he had feelings totally opposite to that of the villagers. None of those observations gave him enough info, so he elbowed his teammate in order to get some answers.

"So, what's the big deal, huh?"

Shikamaru replied, his eyes still glued on the scene in front of them: "Doesn't one of the hostages look familiar to you?"

The genin quickly scanned the scene once more: thugs were taking merchandise here and there and were loading them onto horses. The same man he and Shikamaru had met a month ago being the leader. Next to him was a family of six people; add in the newcomer and there were a total of seven hostages. He recognized none of them, yet the last one did draw his attention. His cane and trademark dark shades labeled him as blind. His face didn't ring any bells to the young hyperactive shinobi, yet he couldn't get his eyes off him. After a moment of observation he concluded it had to do with his style. The plain, yet traditional clothes that set him apart of the merchants; the air confidence he tried to hide under his stuttering and shivering; the dark long hair… He didn't know why but everything about that man felt… familiar.

"Are you thinking that blind man…?"

"…Isn't blind? That's what we're going to find out. Just be ready for anything."

The duo decided not to interfere in the scuffle and watch what would happen. The wait didn't last: a moment after, the blind man suddenly lunged in the direction of the chief bandit, stabbing him with the stick. The force of the blow sent the guy rolling on the floor. His underlings had barely the time the turn around that he already made a quick about turn and hit another one of the miscreants in the jaw, knocking him unconscious. Now that hostages were free from their captors, the blind man focused his attention on the rest of the pack. Seeing the damage he had done on such short notice, the rest of the bandits quickly tried to gang up on him.

Even encircled, the man was able to dodge each and every blow, no matter what the direction it came from. Slowly, but surely, the thieves maneuvered him into one of the shop stands. They breathed easier assuming they had gained the upper hand. As for the cornered man, he took a defensive stance.

"If you leave now I will do you no harm."

"And how would a blind man like you harm us?" said one of the bandits. "Though you don't fight like a blind man!"

Meanwhile, the villagers seeing the man in action had begun to cheer for their hero. Admiring his skills, even Naruto was waiting for the next part of the battle with anticipation. As for Shikamaru, he was keeping an eye on the leader of the Bandits. From what he could see, the thug was a bit smarter than his cronies in the simple fact that he felt he couldn't win against his new foe. And as he encouraged his underlings, he was making his way towards one of the horses.

"Come on, Naruto," he whispered, "we're leaving."

"Aw, man! We were getting to the nice part!" whined his partner

"We'll be doing some fighting of our own actually."

"Music to my ears!" said the kid as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's go kick some ass, then!"

Taking advantage of the crowd's cheering; the team moved out under the nose of their host.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The blind man was once again faced against foes in every direction. They were fifteen in all, excluding the prudent – or coward – leader and his crony he had disabled earlier. He took a deep breath as he was cheered on by the populace. The effect of the crowd on the bandits was noticeable: even though they were in greater number, they were hesitant to take him head on. After a tense moment of inaction, one of the youngest ruffians finally charged in from behind. The others quickly followed.

The man turned around to deliver a solid spinning kick to his assailant. With him out of the way, the shades wearing fighter threw his fists forward, keeping his walking stick pointing towards his back; one hand connected with the neck of a bandit while the other one was aimed just below the heart of another. He then quickly brought his weapon backwards to strike a foe while he fended off yet another one with a well placed left kick to the chest.

He used that kick as leverage and from that initiated a leg sweep that toppled three thugs. Still strong of his momentum, he continued his spinning motion, but raised his foot with the help of his hands in order to deliver another kick to the bandit he had struck before. He didn't have the time to place down his foot as he saw one his opponents try to tackle him. From his only foot on the ground he jumped and rolled over him. As he got down, the man quickly put his right hand along with his stick through the opening between the thug's feet. He snapped his arm back flipping the poor guy over. To make sure he wouldn't get back up, the blind man delivered a strong blow with the help of his stick.

Six down, nine to go.

After a short pause during which they looked at each other with uncertainly, the bandits rushed again; this time desperation had replaced their earlier confidence. The man suddenly threw his walking stick, hitting one of the henchmen in the forehead. Taking advantage from the slight moment of surprise, the weaponless fighter used his two hands as whips in order to strike the foe to his right. He then followed through with a flurry of quick, concise punches. He quickly snapped his head back in order to evade a blow coming from his left and punched the foe's now exposed right ribs, leaving his earlier opponent crumble. He took hold of the man's outstretched arm and threw him into one of the remaining assailants. As they made contact, he kicked them both away.

One of the bandits took the walking stick that fell on the ground and tried to clobber the blind man with it. Unfortunately, the seasoned fighter simply grabbed the other end of the weapon, and with a quick spinning motion, managed to strike him the chest. The thief was stubborn however and didn't let go of the stick. Sensing incoming attacks from both sides, the man with shades used his end of the cane to block a kick coming from his left as he attacked another opponent with his foot. He kicked man to his left in the jaw while finishing of the other opponent with a fist to the face. Seeing the first man still hadn't let go of his possession, the man let go of his end and kicked the tip of cane. The hit sent the man a few feet back while leaving the stick within arms reach of its rightful owner. After taking hold of it, he turned around and made a quick "Z" motion with the weapon, striking his last two foes in the upper and lower regions and finished them with a wide leg sweep.

A thunder of applause fell on the fighter, yet he didn't drop his defensive stance, as if another foe could jump out at any second. He had to wait until some of the villagers told him it was over before finally relaxing.

"Did I get all of them?" he asked, still a little wary.

"You sure did! It was amazing, as always." said a villager not too far from him. "You sure showed them."

"Wait a second," said a third voice, "their boss is gone!"

It was during this commotion that one of the merchants finally noticed his two guests were missing from the scene.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Those guests were currently making their way back towards Daichi, one of them dragging a gagged man in tow. The villagers were totally surprised: the man responsible for this whole mess had been caught by two complete strangers – kids at that! The old man was relieved to find they hadn't been hurt.

"Seems I was wrong to worry about you guys, huh?"

"Actually, it was more trouble than I thought: that guy had a sword." said Shikamaru, like that man had actually posed a threat of any kind to the two shinobi.

"Like you should be talking; you weren't the one would actually had to fight the guy now, were you, you lazy ass?" reprehended the blonde.

"Well, sorry for not being freakishly strong, idiot."

"Now, now," said the old man, trying to appease the two. "I hope you found what you were looking for, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, I did. I owe it all to you guys, thanks. Oh, and that blind man too: I don't think Naruto and I could have handled all those thieves by ourselves. Is he really blind though?" he asked somewhat skeptic.

"How about you ask him yourself?" said Daichi as he grinned.

"Huh? We can!?" Naruto was excited by this prospect.

The three of them approached the blind man.

"Hey, Ken! Over here!"

Ken, who was relating the events to the people in charge of security, recognized the voice immediately and turned around.

"Daichi…"

"How about coming to my house today?"

"I would be most grateful."

He followed the merchant, but he immediately knew they weren't alone.

"I hear other footsteps besides you: who's accompanying you?"

"Oh, those are kids from the northern country," replied the merchant. "They helped me on the way back home so I promised them some food and shelter."

Ken said nothing more on the subject. Naruto took this opportunity to quench his curiosity.

Hey, old man!? Why did you invite the blind man for the night?

The fighter turned around to face Daichi and raised his eyebrow. The old man shrugged, knowing full well the man wouldn't see it and explained the situation to Naruto.

"As you can see, Ken here is blind, so it's kind of hard for him to live on his own. That's why he his usually offered hospitality by the villagers."

"Villagers…?" the fact that they were many caught the young Nara's attention.

"Yeah, villagers: you wouldn't think so, but this guy is quite the celebrity here. Not many heroes in the neighborhood after all."

As they walked, Ken enquired about his host's recent travels. Meanwhile, the two boys trailed behind in order to figure out what to do now that they had found what they had been looking for. They arrived in front of a house as big as a temple.

"You'll have to wait here," said Daichi as he went in. "I need to make some preparations first."

The old man had just left them alone that Shikamaru addressed himself to the blind man.

"You're not really blind, are you?"

The question was enough to put the fighter into alert; his stance hadn't change, yet now, if he wanted to, he'd be able to fight or flee at a moment's notice.

"I don't get what you mean."

"Come on, don't play dumb with me; the way you handled all those bandits earlier… you couldn't be able to fight at all unless you were able to see them in the first place."

The man visibly relaxed; he probably thought the kid doubted him, nothing more. Actually, that made prefect sense considering how the earlier fight went. "That doesn't change the fact that I can't see. I could fight them because I could hear them. And not to brag, but my hearing is pretty acute."

"Easy to fake that when you have dark shades; well I guess it's a good way to confuse your enemies." commented the genius.

"I admit that could be the case, unfortunately, this is a little bit harder to fake." he said, taking his glasses off.

Both Shikamaru and Naruto stiffened at the sight of his eyes: it clearly looked like he had no pupils, and the incredibly pale color of his iris would lead anyone to believe he was actually blind. At least… the common folk would.

"Well, it's certainly hard to fake something like that, said the young man, shrugging. It seems you really are blind."

"Unless…" continued Naruto, "you're from Konoha, right? _Hyuuga Kohaku?_"

It was now the blind man's turn to become rigid. His expression became even somber when the kids revealed their cleverly dissimulated forehead protectors, confirming they indeed knew exactly who he was. They remained like this for a while until their host came back. The duo quickly hid their protector and went in the house acting as if nothing happened, leaving a quite disturbed blind man behind. Inside they met Daichi's son, Dai: a man in his twenties soon to be married. After quick tour of the house, the guests headed for the dinning room where a meal was waiting for them.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

That dinner was one of the most interesting events in the last few days of the freshly created team. There were three shinobi in the room; one of them being a dangerous enemy and yet nothing remotely close to tension could be felt. It wasn't really hard for Shikamaru to hide his emotions since he found troublesome to bear facial expressions other than bored, annoyed or conniving. He had to praise the calm demeanor of his target though; not once had showed signs of panic during the meal, which he would be completely entitled to. Instead he casually discussed with the hosts of the house.

Even more impressive was Naruto: he took part to the diner like Kohaku Hyuuga was nothing more than a blind man, even going as far as praising him for the fight. Shikamaru noticed that even Kohaku's was surprised by his friendliness: as much as he tried to hide it, the keen observer could spot slight signs of confusion on the face of the blind man. He couldn't blame him; Naruto didn't even look like he was faking… or was he? The genius couldn't even tell anymore.

After the meal, the boys were shown their rooms. Naruto closed the door after making sure that Daichi and more importantly "Ken" had left the hallway. After setting himself comfortably on his bed, he looked at Shikamaru.

"We're doing this tonight." He decided

"I was afraid you'd say that," mumbled the genius." We're not ready yet. You haven't finished your training I still haven't quite mastered the new firebomb Technique and…"

"Fine then: _I'm_ doing this tonight." declared the blonde.

"Oi, Oi, I don't remember saying I wouldn't help you, Jeez! But don't you think it would be wiser to wait a little while before trying to capture him?"

The young Nara knew that pleading was useless: Naruto hadn't been this excited since the fight between Sasuke and Gaara. He highly doubted they'd get out of that one alive, but still tried to devise plans basing his previsions on Naruto's fight with Neji. The only thing left after that was to rest and to prepare for their inevitable battle.

"By the way, it was pretty good acting back there. I was impressed."

"Acting? When?"

"You know… during the meal. …You _were_ acting, right?"

"Why would I? S-rank criminal or not, that was some awesome fight. Anyway, it's not like I have anything against the guy besides the mission."

Shikamaru said nothing more, but glanced at his friend from the corner of his eye. Naruto's answer made sense; that he couldn't denied. He also couldn't refute that his behavior was unorthodox to say the least. Making bonds with an enemy wasn't the best of tactics. He didn't share his thoughts with Naruto however. He knew the blonde had his way of doing things.

The black haired genius woke up some time past midnight. He took out a letter intended to Daichi explaining his sudden departure and put it on the pillow of his bed. After making sure that Naruto wasn't in the room, he silently exited his room and got out of the house. In front of the building was an annoyed looking blonde, with his arms crossed and with his foot tapping rather impatiently.

"You're late!"

"…So? Give me a break here: I haven't slept in such a comfy bed for days because of you. Besides, any shinobi in my place would've stayed inside the house, or better: would have fled through the back door." He sighed. "Anyways, where's our target?"

"Couple of blocks that way," he said pointing west.

"You're sure you want to do this? You know, we could always leave. The simple fact that we found him is more than enough for…"

"Shikamaru, I have to do this."

"Yeah, I guess so." He shrugged. "I'll stick around then: you'll need someone to bury you when he kills you."

"Thanks, your optimism was just the thing I needed to cheer me up." Said his teammate as he smiled grimly

They headed towards the town entrance where Kohaku was waiting for them. There, the three people quietly left the village. The way things were going was surprising for Team Oblivion; it was like Kohaku and they had some sort of unspoken shinobi protocol they mechanically followed, like they had planned on it from the beginning. During that time, both parties remained silent, and moved if only to walk or to give cautious looks to the opposition.

When they thought they were far enough not to disturb the nearby citizens, they stopped. Kohaku backed away from them, and after a long moment of tensed muteness, spoke first.

"So, What do you want from me?"

"We come from Konoha looking for you and we're bringing you back," stated Naruto.

"I'm afraid I'll have to oppose to that idea."

"Oh well, we tried," said Shikamaru as he shrugged. "We can leave now, right?"

"Shikamaru… You're killing the mood, here!" whined the Kyuubi host. He then quickly faced his opponent. "Fine by me: we'll just have to drag you there!"

Kohaku looked at them for a moment before answering. From the looks of things he wasn't enjoying this situation in the least.

"Listen, I have nothing against you. I have nothing against the Konoha hidden village either. I just want to live the rest of my life in peace. You kids have probably seen first hand how essential I am to this place; I have seen this village the target of many bandits since I came here. Are you sure you want to take that away? You're ready to remove this village's only protector? And for what? Your village? Some Ryo*? Don't you think it's selfish?"

The veteran fighter had probably wanted to appeal to their still human heart, hoping that hadn't completely turned into soldiers yet. Apparently it worked: Naruto's traits softened somewhat. Maybe he could convince them not to attempt such a suicidal task.

"In normal circumstances, a missing nin like me should have killed you already, in order to protect myself and to remain hidden. But if you give me your word that you'll never mention seeing me here, I'm prepared to trust you. It's not such a bad deal isn't it; your silence for your lives, and the fact that you're also protecting this village."

_What is up with that guy?_ wondered Shikamaru. Kohaku was right: any ninja on the run would have either run away or tried to kill them the moment they had figured his identity. So why wasn't _he_ doing so? This man was doing the total opposite. He'd definitely have to check the Bingo Book to see what kind of deed a man so considerate committed. Well… _if_ he survived, that is. For now he had to debunk those faulty claims the Hyuuga spouted.

"…Selfish? Protecting the village?" asked the pineapple head sarcastically. "Are you perhaps underestimating us? The way I see it, things are completely reversed. Aren't you the one using this village for protection?"

Kohaku expression darkened as he heard the accusation. As for Shikamaru he snorted; the Hyuuga's face was the only proof he needed to ascertain his theory was right.

"You said it yourself: bandits have started attacking this village _since you came here_. Now if what you said is true, the only logic explanation is that this village wasn't attacked by bandits; in truth you were hunted by ninjas!"

"And you're willing to future of this village on a guess? Don't be stupid." pleaded the criminal.

Naruto, however, had regained his confidence from Shikamaru's deductions. "We don't have to: When we bring you back to Konoha, they won't be attacked by hunter nin looking for you anymore." The Hyuuga snorted. Naruto continued: "And if this village needs protection afterwards, I'll be there to help them!" claimed the kid as he stuck out his chest boastfully.

Kohaku Hyuuga had a sad smile on his face. His eyes were fixed on Naruto for what looked like an eternity, and then his gaze shifted to Shikamaru. Meanwhile this time team Oblivion exchanged perplexed glances, at lost about the Hyuuga's odd behavior.

"Countless jounin and hunter nin have tried to capture me. Most if not all of them are dead. You don't look like jounin, let alone chuunin, yet you're after me… why?"

"Because I want to go home." The blonde's answer surprised Kohaku. "If I complete this mission, I'll be able to go home. If I don't fight you... then I'll have to fight against my village."

The blonde's teammate gave him a sympathetic look. Naruto was right: he was in a bad situation not matter what his choice was.

"It's one of those problems when you lose whatever your choice his."

"It's called "a dilemma"." corrected Shikamaru.

"Shut up! I knew that!" he retorted to his friend who simply shrugged. He quickly focused his attention back to his adversary. "In the end I just want things to go back to what they were before. I'm betting my life on it; it's pretty much the only thing I have to lose right now anyway."

"Betting your life huh?"

Kohaku stopped smiling; it seemed the criminal had made up his mind.

"Since you're willing to bet your life against such overwhelming odds, it would only be fair if I put my life on the line as well. Let's make things fair: If you can hurt me in any way, I'll admit my loss."

The rookies were once again surprised and shared another look.

"You're underestimating us," warned Naruto. "You'll regret it."

"Don't worry about me; you're ten years too early to even think about grazing me. And I'll prove it to you: I give you five minutes to attack me or to run. If you attack, I won't kill you; I you run, I won't pursue you."

"And after five minutes…?" asked Naruto.

"You will die."

Shikamaru's expression didn't change. He took a fighting stance: their chances for survival were slim, but at least now they existed. Naruto for his part was ready for anything. Both silently watched as Kohaku put his arms in the traditional Gentle Fist style and took a deep breath.

"Come."

Naruto turned towards his teammate: "Ready," he asked?

Shikamaru showed a small grin. "Ready."

Both shinobi jumped backwards; the fight had started.

_**Finding their target is one thing, bringing him back is a whole different matter. The real mission begins now.**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

***Ryo is the currency in Naruto. If it does have a plural form, please let me know.**

**A/N: ****Hum… sorry? It did take a while for to update, huh? If you think this chapter is not quite on par with the other ones, don't worry: the next ones will be better I hope you guys enjoy the chapter anyway. Three more chapters and this ark is over, I promise! …I hope -__-'**

**Ah, one more thing if I could have some feedback on the fight scene it would be appreciated. It's the first I went in such detail: is it too much?**

**While I'm on the subject, let's answer some questions.**

**Those who asked for Jiraiya to train them and/or a mission leading them in the Country of the Wind, you're in luck those ideas were both already part of my plot. So they're coming. For the people concerned about romance, here's my stance on this: they'll be as much romance in this fic as in the manga.**

**PS: ****The end of this ark is coming to a close soon… During my break I was thinking of starting on another project, so I made a poll in order to see which of those would interest you more. If you guys are interested, please, visit my profile and let me know. **

**PSS: Since this particular comment did appear a couple of times. I guess it would be good for me to have a Beta reader. Anyone interested let me know.**


	19. Kohaku Hyuuga

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**19****. The First Mission: ****Kohaku Hyuuga**

_**Kohaku Hyuuga V.S. Team Oblivion! Fight!**_

Naruto and Shikamaru were now at a respectable distance from their foe. Both parties looked around them: this was a plain field. Not much vegetation, probably due to the quantity of rocks and boulders lying about; pretty much a terrain that gave no advantage to neither the young shinobi or the missing nin. The study of the terrain over, they gazed each other. Seeing that so far the man hadn't moved, the Nine Tails host opted to take the initiative.

"[Shadow Clone Jutsu]!"

A dozen of copies soon surrounded the veteran shinobi, who, after releasing the Byakugan, raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"The shadow clone technique…! That's no rookie level jutsu." he remarked

The young genin smiled. "Heh, not bad right? You shouldn't underestimate me, you know."

Kohaku smirked for sole answer. Feeling he was wasting their precious five minutes, the blonde gave his squadron the order to attack. The two closest copies struck at the same time, hitting nothing but air. Guessing this wasn't by luck, soon the rest of the clones joined the assault.

The results had Naruto drop his jaw.

The Hyuuga renegade was literally dancing around his opponents, dodging their every blow. Naruto was at loss about his next step. Of course he and Shikamaru had come up with a couple of strategies against the outlaw, but most if not all of them required that he'd at least on a level to be able to hit his opponent. He had seen enough to guess that number wasn't an issue here: there was clearly a huge gap between their fighting abilities.

Visibly shaken by such a display of taijutsu, he stepped back. Next to him was Shikamaru, who, judging by his expression, was also amazed by the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist mastery. Remembering he wasn't alone in this fight reassured the blond without him realizing it. Quickly composing himself, he made a gesture towards his teammate, who simply nodded. The Kyuubi host smiled: he had proposed his friend to use one of their formulated attack patterns and this was his favorite. The first step in order to use it was to get the entire attention of his opponent, so he opted for a more overwhelming battle tactic. He made twenty other clones and as they joined the brawl – or lack thereof – he shouted

"Plan C!"

The copies looked at each other, only to grin mischievously at the target. Once again they surrounded him, only this time they all jumped on him and formed a messy cluster raising some dirt. Shikamaru was waiting for that part of their stratagem and started throwing tagged kunai above the Naruto cluster. The dust settled, revealing a figure sitting on top of the human pile. The man smiled until he saw the rain of explosives, but it was already too late. The tags activated almost simultaneously resulting in an impressive explosion.

It took a little while for the two make out anything in the surrounding. When they finally could, there was a large crater, and there laid their motionless target. Naruto was trembling of excitement at the prospect of victory; however he stopped himself from smiling: there was no way a shinobi on the level of Kakashi would be done in so easily. He looked at the corpse a little closer: something was definitely odd about it. Shikamaru probably thought the same because his expression showed concern. The blonde took another look at the corpse and quickly found what he had thought to be so peculiar the first time. He observed every inch of the body in order to make sure he wasn't mistaking, but there was no doubt about it: the man lying on the scorched earth in front of them was immaculate; not a trace of anything resembling a burn. To confirm his suspicions, his teammate threw a kunai in the direction of the corpse who puffed away the instant the pointy objet came in contact.

"Damn it! He got us!" mumbled the genius.

"That guy uses clones, too!"

It was then the two of them heard a clap behind them. They turned around to face Kohaku Hyuuga who sitting on a boulder, evidently enjoying himself.

"I must admit I am impressed: I did not think you would employ such a degree of coordination. I apologize for underestimating you."

Shikamaru cursed silently: one of the few advantages they had over him was exactly that; that he took them too lightly. Unfortunately now that was gone.

"Shit, was he tricking us from the beginning!"

"That can't be right," reasoned the Chuunin, "even a shadow clone wouldn't have survived those explosions; he must have escaped at the last second and left the clone as bait.

"I thought the Hyuuga clan didn't use ninjutsu!" complained Naruto.

"Heh, same here."

"Well, while most of the Hyuuga are trained indoors, we still have to learn the basic jutsu, do we not. Whether we use it or not…"

"[Fireball Technique]!"

The move came from the pineapple haired ninja. The man frowned, seemingly more vexed that he was interrupted than in the jutsu itself. As the flaming projectile was about to hit him he stopped it with a wave of his left hand.

"Ninjutsu of that level won't work on me." he stated while getting up. "What's wrong, Anxious?" he smiled condescendingly "Well I would has well seeing time is ticking away any hope you have of leaving here alive."

Team Oblivion's expression darkened when they had realized that only three minutes would soon remain.

"This is bad," said Naruto in a cold sweat.

"Well, this was expected considering we are facing the Byakugan here. Fortunately I found a weakness we can exploit."

"The Byakugan doesn't have any weakness." he simply stated.

"Yeah, uh huh…" he turned to Naruto, "we're going with "B" this time."

"Gotcha!"

Both ninja started making hand sings. They simultaneously used both the breakthrough and the fireball in tandem to create:

[Dual element: Infernal Rave]!

The already big ball of fire became so large it would fairer to compare it to wave of pure destructive force. Seeing the massive difference in size, Kohaku found more practical to shield himself instead of running away. Thanks to his Byakugan and experience, he was able to tear a hole into the wall of flames without being harmed. He was only half surprised when a grenade with the "Light" kanji. _So that's it, _he thought_, they intended to attack me while I defended myself from the jutsu_. Once again, he found himself praising the critical thinking of those two; it was true that the Hyuuga clan relied mostly on their Taijutsu and eye technique, hence de light grenade. However, it was for the same reason they had used numerous measures in order to protect them, including training against these kinds of strategies.

Judging wise not to underestimate these kids after their prior demonstration, he took a defensive stance, thinking the light grenade might still be a decoy or of another type of grenade. The small object ignited but the light was less intense the he had expected. Instead, a most deafening sound came out which caught the experienced fighter completely by surprise. The sound was brief, yet it was so strong the Gentle Fist user thought he had lost his hearing. He expected another attack following the noise, and it came in the shape a shadow slithering its way in his direction. He immediately recognized the famous Nara Clan technique. He smiled to himself thinking the way each moves linked one into another was most impressive; too bad he could still see or might have really been caught in their trap. He knew his only option was to evade the shadow, but as he tried to leap out of arms way, he found himself suddenly wobbly and staggered. _What just happened!_ No time to think about the answer as the shadow was already connecting with his own. The man was now forced to face his captor who was smiling.

"The Shadow bind Jutsu! But… how?"

"See, this is your weakness: You rely on your eyes too much."

Kohaku had regained his hearing but still couldn't grasp what Shikamaru was implying. Was he talking about the light grenade? However besides the sound… Wait…

"The sound…?"

"Exactly: because you rely too much on your eyes, you expect your opponent to mainly focus on them. Because of that you never even thought of someone attacking you through your other senses. That noise grenade did its job perfectly."

There was no time for the Hyuuga to think of the intricacies of such careful planning since Naruto had just made more copies of himself. Since he was now impossible for him to move, the idea of defeating their opponent actually sounded plausible. The now 7 clones, along with the real Naruto assaulted the immobile target from every side, with the intent of ending the fight right then. The original blonde muscles relaxed as his fist connected with Kohaku's face, but to his dismay, there was still a one inch gap between his fingers and the Hyuuga's skin. On each clone the same shocked expression gradually appeared as Kohaku himself looked a little bluish.

Naruto gasped. "Chakra!"

"It seems you think this will be able to stop me." replied a more collect Hyuuga.

He closed his eyes to concentrate and the chakra around his whole body pulsed sending back all of his opponents who disappeared, except for the real Naruto who rolled on the floor. Even Shikamaru, who was about ten meters away was affected, or at least felt something because he instinctively raised his hands to defend himself. The experienced shinobi couldn't help but smile as his opponents exchanged a worried glance. Now all he had to do was to hold out for one more minute…

Naruto tried other moves ranging from even more clones to using ninjutsu; all were dealt with the same move only with more or less intensity, depending on the situation. Being unable to harm him even in such a situation exasperated the demon host. As a result, his attempts became more and more reckless and desperate.

Shikamaru could only watch Naruto's struggle against such a powerful adversary. He was trying to keep his cool, but he had a very grim feeling about Kohaku's calmness. Who knew their opponent would use a technique so similar to Neji's Kaiten? Wasn't that a main family jutsu? Then again, Neji _was_ able to learn it by himself. Still, from watching Naruto's fight that time he knew this technique was severely lacking, mostly due to the fact that this Hyuuga couldn't move. And because of that same predicament they could afford to approach the issue in a more calculated manner.

"Naruto, keep your act together!" yelled the genius, "Just try to focus and keep attacking."

The blonde calmed down somewhat. "Focus… got it!"

The genin relied on his earlier training and focused his chakra onto his fist. A cold sweat ran through Kohaku's back; a basic attack like that one wasn't life threatening, but it was sure to put more than a scratch on him if he didn't do anything. Fortunately for him, he was regaining more and mobility by the seconds. It was a gamble: would he regain enough control over his body to defend the energetic kid stroke?

Naruto, his new weapon ready lunged at his opponent with the firm intention of finally punching his face. Thinking the Hyuuga was still paralyzed he tried hitting him using all the weight of his body. This assumption gave his enemy the opportunity to raise his arm in defense. The impact of the attack sent him skidding a full 5 meters back along with the shadow user.

It was impossible to tell who was more surprised between the blonde, seeing Kohaku move, or his teammate, when he realized he was no longer in control of his own arms, nevertheless, the urgency of the situation helped them quickly get over it. Naruto wasn't done yet. In fact, he hadn't fully brought out all of his chakra for the first blow. Seeing the effects, he wouldn't hold back this time.

"You won't be able to block the next one." he stated adamant.

The trapped shinobi's expression darkened "I won't have to; your time his up."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Both young shinobi exchanged a panicked glance. Still their foe was under the Shadow Bind Technique and they could still use this opportunity to end this before things got really dangerous. Naruto thought of making some clones and attack with a dozen of chakra reinforced attacks since that last stunt had been the most successful so far. The rogue ninja had already regained control of his arms, so time couldn't be wasted. As set up his assault, he noticed his opponent was making weird motions with arms. The blonde's gut felling was that something bad was coming and he had to stop it. As soon as they were ready, his clones attacked Kohaku simultaneously.

It was in the midst of this assault that the experience Gentle Fist user commenced his retaliation. He aimed for the boy who had captured him and struck into the air.

"[Eight Trigrams: Air Palm]!"

The young Nara saw nothing, yet an instant later felt like someone had punch him in the face. He was sent to the floor, while the older man only staggered; the Binding technique had been cancelled. While this was quite the feat in itself, only a split second still, and the first of the eight clones who had surrounded him would connect with a leg sweep.

What happened in such a short amount of time, no one knew. But the result was clear – and terrifying. The Hyuuga was out of the range of the now seven clones. The assault team, apparently immobile, disappeared one after another in rapid succession. Seeing this, the blonde shinobi quickly made more clones, for defense purpose this time. But once he was done, his opponent was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had quickly gotten to his feet. After a careful observation of his surroundings, he came to the conclusion that he was in a pretty bad situation. He trusted their foe to act smartly: right now his biggest threat wasn't the one who was able to _hurt_ him, but the one who could _prevent_ him from not getting hurt. So of course he quickly understood he was the most likely target of the Hyuuga's counter attack.

He was getting ready for anything, kunai in hand when he was swept of his feet. As he fell, the young genius looked up to see a very determined Kohaku Hyuuga, readying his hand, probably to deliver the assuredly fatal blow. Shikamaru had took the time to make a mental diagram of his opening points and inner coils system in the advent of such a situation occurring. He also decided to wear light but sturdy body armor under his clothes. But now that the attack was coming, he had no idea what to do. _Will he go for my heart, or my lungs? …Maybe the liver? Bah, might as well try to cover everything_. At the same time he threw his kunai aiming at his face. The move had the expected results: as his opponent dodged, his own attack became a little less precise. This however did not prepare him to what happened next.

Kohaku had put his palm over Shikamaru's chest and released chakra. At first the Nara heir felt nothing, and then all of a sudden he felt agonizing pain all throughout his body. A moment later he hit the floor with so much force he heard the sounds of bones breaking. The pain was so great he wondered why he hadn't fainted yet. For once, his instinct answered instead of his reason: he had then the clear impression that if he closed his eyes, he would never open them again. Not that it changed anything: from what he could distinguish in his haziness, the Hyuuga, not content that his foe was still breathing moved in for the kill. The young shinobi was ready to accept his fate when he heard a familiar voice.

"Get away from him you bastard!"

A dozen of Naruto copies came from above, all aiming to strike the vagrant shinobi except one who crouched near the injured Shikamaru. The Gentle Fist user stepped back, only to be surrounded once again. He raised his eyebrow in surprise this time: instead of the dozen of clones or so he was used to face they were now hundreds of them.

"I hope you don't think those numbers mean anything to me." He stated readying his stance for the on coming gauntlet.

For sole answer, the first group of shadow clones rushed towards him…

During that time, the blonde genin was carrying a half conscious teammate to a safe distance from the fight.

"Hey Shikamaru, are you OK?" Naruto's voice was filled with worry.

The other boy tried to formulate an answer, but only blood came out. With a painful and heavy sigh, Shikamaru made the hand signs to use the Absolute Control technique. He was still alive: that fact alone told him the Hyuuga's attack hadn't worked as well as it should. While that held true, he was dying right now. Maybe there was a way to repair some damage and get him out of his critical state.

The time his friend stayed in that state of unconsciousness was one of the most stressful moments the shadow clone specialist ever experienced. Many times, he thought his teammate had died; he remembered the way Hinata had a convalescence of several weeks after Neji defeated her, or how Rock Lee could potentially have to give up on his dream because of the Chuunin exams. Now something worse was happening to Shikamaru and his own arrogance was the only reason. He had never imagined things would have turned this bad. His mind made many trips between sorrow and anger. About to totally abandon himself to one of these somber feelings, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked down and eyes stared right back at him. Naruto's relief couldn't be measured.

"Shikamaru! You're Alive! I –I thought you were dead, you know."

"…Don't kill me in your mind." Shikamaru answered while looking around. "For how long was I out?"

"A minute tops."

"How's the situation with Kohaku Hyuuga?"

"I'm holding him back for the moment."

"How long can you do that?"

"Judging by the way he takes out my clones," he pondered amidst the sounds of dispatched clones, "about three more minutes."

"Good enough." He closed his eyes for almost one minute. When opened them again his expression was full determination. "Are you still up for a fight?"

"Shikamaru… you almost died." Naruto argued. "I think we should…"

But he was interrupted by his teammate. "Naruto, focus; weren't you the one who said you were betting your life on this? Well I'm betting mine too, so no going all Un-Naruto-ish on me. Now," he asked again, "are you still up for a fight?"

"Yeah. I'm about ready to kick some ass now." He was smiling again.

"Good."

That being said, Shikamaru took out a soldier pill with a trembling hand and swallowed it. Afterwards, he painfully got up, and started scattering all of his tags around the area.

Listen carefully, Naruto: I'm going to stop him on my own. When I do, hit him with everything you've got.

"Are you sure? What about your wounds?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

He was lying. He was far from fine; he was dying. While inside his body, he tried to repair the damaged organs as much as he could, but it was useless. He had to work on his inner coils to improve his condition. He did the best he could considering the time he had, but it wasn't enough to get him out of critical condition. Cue to the soldier pill: a good drug that could serve as a pain reliever that would give enough energy to put up one last fight.

Of course he could have fled, as per Naruto's suggestion. It was his first intention as well, but after quickly thinking about it he decided to fight. After all he did not know if he would survive even if they had fled: Would he really be able to heal his wounds given the time? Would he even have that time?

Not only that, but what about Naruto? How would his teammate feel if he died in his arms after losing that battle, especially after everything he's been through? Would he try to go back to Konoha after such an event? Would he be able to? Kohaku had said that he would kill them if they stuck around too long and they had done just that; Case in point: his own self. He might be done for, but his friend wasn't; he'd make sure that at least one of them would make it to Konoha alive.

Shikamaru got into position and signaled Naruto to call off his clones. At first their opponent was confused with their new strategy, until a fireball came into his direction from behind. He quickly turned around and scattered it like the first one.

"I told you jutsu like that don't work on me."

For sole answer a second fireball came from the same direction. The Byakugan user was ready to treat it the same as the previous attacks when he noticed it was somewhat different. Reacting to his gut instinct, he instead protected himself with all he had. As soon as the projectile made contact with Kohaku, it exploded. The impact sent the Hyuuga several meters back.

The Taijutsu specialist staggered; the blow hadn't done any physical damaged, but a blast was still a blast. He quickly recovered and was ready to dispose of his most annoying opponent when he heard a comment.

"You better watch your step."

It was only then he noticed the tags covering the floor. As if to answer to his dreadful intuition, many of the tags around him suddenly exploded. Feeling some of them might be fake, he tried observing more attentively in order to figure out a way out of this mine zone.

That moment of distraction was just what Shikamaru was looking for. He threw a light grenade behind him, and in an instant, his shadow was upon his target, binding him for the second time. His opponent seemed surprised at first, but quickly regained control of himself. Having experienced the Shadow Biding technique made one more resistant to it, something which Kohaku Hyuuga immediately noticed. After a few seconds the shadow user could already feel his arms losing control as his opponent was readying a second Air Palm technique. He smiled. The Gentle fist user wouldn't have time to hit him; he was already past his limit. The jutsu cancelled on its own. Shikamaru fell on his knee, trying to fight a losing battle against unconsciousness. His last blurry vision was of Naruto jumping at Kohaku Hyuuga.

_Do your best Naruto… Mom, Dad, Choji, I'm sorry…_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru opened his eyes and saw clouds.

_Well, if this is heaven, it's not so bad._

Except… was there supposed to be pain in heaven? Because he could swear he was feeling his chest burn every time he took a breath. Was it possible that he was still alive? Wait, if was still alive… what about Naruto? He tried getting up… and immediately regretted his move. He felt like every one of his vitals was going haywire, reminding him of his previous encounter. The sudden pain made him scream in spite of himself, to which a groggy groan responded. First, he quickly returned to his original position in order to lessen the pain. Once he felt like he could move his head without feeling like he was dying, the young Nara tossed his head in the direction the sound came from and saw his friend waking up.

"Naruto?" he asked still in disbelief?

"Shikamaru?" He quickly snapped his head up. "You woke up; finally!" Quickly got closer to his friend and noticed his pain. "Hey, you shouldn't try to move."

"Kind of too late for that." he mumbled between groans. "Where are we anyway?"

"Not far from the place where we fought." an older voice answered.

The shinobi duo turned around to face the missing nin. From what they could see, he had no intention of killing them, which was a good sign. The young genius let out a sigh of relief.

"So, I guess I have you to thank for still being in this world, huh?" He let out with a weak smirk, "I'm grateful."

"You're very welcome." he said, amused by Shikamaru's antics.

"But…" continued the chuunin "That means Naruto was able was able to hurt you, right?"

To his surprise, Naruto himself was waiting for a response. For sole answer, the Hyuuga showed them his left arm. As they looked with apprehension, he moved the sleeve to reveal a bandage.

"Ha! It worked!" yelled Naruto as he jumped up. "I knew my last attack would work! I'm a freaking genius!"

"Well I must admit I never expected you guys would be able to achieve a draw against me. You guys are something else altogether."

Naruto's hands, which were raised, fell lifelessly to his sides. Shikamaru's eyes grew wide. Both looked at each other, then at Kohaku Hyuuga in pure disbelief.

"A DRAW!"

_**The match ended with a tie? How did that ever happen?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: ****-_-' …I'm back? Sorry for the late update? Please don't kill me?**

**I'll try update on a regular biweekly basis (once every two weeks). Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will have an outlook on Konoha. Look forward to it.**

**Also I thought it would be better if I used more Japanese expressions (-san/chan suffixes and all that). Yay or Nay?**

**One more thing; I want to thank everyone who reviewed during this long hiatus. You don't know how pleased (And guilty – bad, bad Sir-Shun****!) I was to read your reviews months after I had stopped updating. Hopefully that'll never happen again.**

**PS: Well, since I took so long to update I'd kind of feel like ****a jerk if I took a break after finishing this ark, so you can forget about that. Still I'll be working on one or two other fanfic. Thing is, I won't be continuing "Chronicles of the Lazy Ass Ninja" Because I think someone else has done a better job than me. Read "Who is Nara Shikamaru" and see for yourself. The Poll has been reset taking this in mind.**


	20. Back to Konoha

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -__-'

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**20. The F****irst Mission: Back to Konoha**

… _**A Draw!? How was our heroic duo able to achieve such an incredible result!?**_

It was an early afternoon. At that time of the day, the plains of the Coast Country were quiet; nothing really happened here. However today was different; the peace of the nearby surroundings was broken by the incredulous shout of two surprised teens.

"A DRAW!?"

"What do you mean 'a draw'!? What the hell just happened!?" demanded the blonde boy, still full of energy.

Shikamaru was even more confused and annoyed than Naruto. "And you," he shouted to his teammate, "how come you're asking _him_ about it? Aren't _you_ the one who beat him?"

"Of course I beat him!" snapped the genin, "… I think."

"… you think!?" The young genius stopped yelling; it was too troublesome – and painful. "How come you only _think_ you did?"

"Well, my memory is kind of fuzzy." He said, scratching his chin. "I remember having a stroke of genius. And then I made an awesome lunge… and then nothing."

The Hyuuga chose this moment to interrupt the team's dialogue. "If you want, I can tell you what happened."

"You can? That's great!" beamed Naruto.

As for his companion, he was silent. Somehow what the older man had said sent his mind to work. Taking his silence as consent, the veteran shinobi took a moment to gather his thoughts before starting his narration.

"We'll start from the point where Shikamaru was unable to keep up the Shadow Technique he was using." he suggested. The young pineapple haired ninja nodded in approval. "As he collapsed I concluded that he was either exhausted or finally dying: either way he was one less opponent I had to face, so I could shift my whole attention to the other one. Like the last time, he was already in mid attack when I confronted him, however now he attacked solo. Sensing the attack would be somewhat different than the last I observed carefully and noticed he was now trying to attack with a kunai. Reassured I simply stepped back to dodge the wide and predictable overhead slash and moved in to counter his blow with a strike to the heart."

He paused.

"Now this attack was supposed to kill him, so I immediately tried looking for the shadow user in order to ascertain his death. It was then that I felt something was wrong; my left arm was aching with a pain similar to a cut. I brought it in to view, and to my great surprise, my eyes confirmed what my body was telling me: I was bleeding from a wound. At a loss as to the wound's cause I looked for the blonde boy's kunai: since it was the last thing he used and it actually wounded me, it might have had a property I was unaware of.

The weapon was still in the boy's grasp, yet it was now unusable; another mystery. I focused some more in order to study the kunai further when I made a most startling discovery: the boy was still alive. The circulation of chakra should have stopped the moment I had made contact with his heart, yet still the flow went on, albeit dangerously slow. Not only that, but the flow was actually getting faster, meaning the boy was healing. I looked for his companion; against all belief, he was also alive, yet his chakra flow was slowing down.

I could have killed the blonde shinobi and walked away to return to the village: for all intents and purposes, you were beaten and one of you was dying. Yet it was also undeniable that the two of you were not only able to hurt, but to wound me. Considering that doing any less than saving the raven haired boy's life would be dishonorable, I tried my best to use my killing art as a way to save him. When I was able to get his life out of immediate danger, I transported both of you to a deserted place where you could both recover at leisure."

Naruto who like his partner had been silent suddenly beamed.

"I remember now!"

"… remember What?" asked his partner.

"The move I used to win!"

"Really, and what was it?" asked the Hyuuga.

"I was going to attack him using the same technique as last time, but I thought; _if he blocks this as well it's all over, you know_. Then I wondered if there wasn't some way to cut through his defenses in order to damage him."

Shikamaru already understood where his friend was going, but said nothing.

"Then it hit me;" he exclaimed enthusiastically "wind cuts, you know. I could use that wind elemental chakra in order to make a way through his chakra shield. So I picked up the first thing that could cut, put in as much wind element chakra I could and-" he stopped his story when he saw the incredulous faces of his audience. "What? What did I say? You don't believe me?"

"The amount of chakra needed to perform that move, with a non chakra tuned weapon…" started the missing nin.

"Naruto, that was enough chakra to ruin your kunai, and you were spamming jutsu and chakra nonstop; seriously, your stamina is ridiculous!" said Shikamaru.

"Heh heh… what can I say; I was born awesome, you know!"

Still there was another issue to attend to. Shikamaru was still unsure about Kohaku's intentions. "So, we've got a draw… what happens now?"

The older shinobi must have thought of the situation as well because he already had his answer prepared "Well I didn't win, so returning to what I was doing before is out of the question. But since you technically 'lost' as well, the deal is still void."

"What?"

"Of course, you're always welcome to challenge me again." he proposed, trying to hide a smirk.

The other two remained silent. There was nothing else to do. They would just have to revert to the original plan: come back to Konoha in order to abort the mission. Of course this was not the conclusion they had hoped for, but protest at this point was stupid; they could have died easily against the S-rank criminal. The fact that he saved them and let them go was miraculous in and of itself. Yet all of that just made the hyperactive genin curious.

"So, what are you gonna do now?"

"Kohaku made sure to catch both of their expressions before answering "I'm going to accompany you for a while."

"Accompany? Where?"

"To Konoha, of course."

"WHAT!?" Both genin were in shock. "Hey… but, but why?" asked Naruto.

"Let's just say you reminded me I had unfinished business there."

"But, why are you going with us?"

"I… frankly don't know." answered the Hyuuga. "I'm thinking if I'm going into hostile territory, I might as well go there with company."

Shikamaru said nothing more and fell on his back, closing his eyes; all of these surprises and ridiculous events were tiring him. In fact, since he couldn't move much, maybe he should just rest. Naruto sat next to him, preoccupied.

"So I guess after you recover, it's back to Konoha, huh?"

"That's the plan, I suppose."

"Home… I wonder what everybody's doing there…"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Meanwhile, somewhere in Konoha…

"Ohhh, when Shikamaru gets back I am _so_ going to beat him silly with my 16-hit combo!!"

Choji simply smiled at Ino's antics. Today he was eating BBQ flavored chips.

"Come on now Ino, you know you don't mean that."

"I'm serious, Choji! That good-for-nothing's been gone for almost two months now! He's probably slacking off who knows where while we're doing all the work!"

The plump teenager's grin only grew wider. He could understand Ino's grumpiness to an extent; after all it was for the first time their teammate had been away on his own, and in a very busy time, too. Konoha was slowly recovering from their loss of resources, both human and material, from the failed attempt of invasion by the sand and sound. As such, every shinobi available was worked to the bone, and even genin teams were no exceptions. At first, it only meant more D and C-ranked missions, but soon they even received B-class assignments.

It was probably then the girly kunoichi had felt the pineapple head's absence the most. She had always assumed she was the boss and the head of the team, her lazy companion a sloppy, but reliable second, and Choji the supporting muscle. Ino was smart. Not genius level, but enough to get the highest grades in class along with the prodigy and Sakura. Therefore her plans were far from haphazard or negligent when they were required to be. So it seemed natural for her to take the lead.

After a few escort missions, she began noticing that she had less initiative than before. Of course she knew it was because a team was missing a member, and that the number of strategies she could come up with suffered because of it, but Asuma was with them, so things shouldn't have changed that much. Still, it was precisely because of that she felt something was wrong: The reason Asuma had proposed his team for the chuunin exams was because they performed their task exceptionally well even without his assistance.

At first, she only missed Shikamaru's analytic faculties. She had to admit that from the way he seized up a situation, it was easier for her to formulate an appropriate course of action. Her teammate's various suggestions didn't hurt either… The more she thought about it, the more it felt to her that the black haired genin was the true brains of the team. After all he was the only one who went on to the finals, and he arguably beat Temari, a shinobi she knew few genin were able to deal with.

"He should have come back by now."

Choji could see the atmosphere had changed. A glance at his teammate and he knew she was as apprehensive as he was. Not even Asuma had been out this long a mission. Add to this the way Shikamaru had left, the sudden revelation about Naruto and that council member… thankfully, she didn't know that much. But he did; and from the worried expression of Asuma, he had guessed in how much trouble his best friend was. He was worried, but also knew Shikamaru better than anyone.

"He'll be back." he declared.

Ino was surprised by his confidence. "How do you know?"

"I know him." he simply remarked. "Besides," he added, "it's not like he could slack off so long with Naruto around."

"Ha! Even more the reason they should head back! I bet that forehead girl is having the time of her life."

"Actually, I bet she's even more eager to see Naruto come back than you are." he countered.

"Huh? What do you mean, Choji?"

But the boy didn't reply. Instead returned to his chips and looked back towards the gates of Konoha.

_So, when are you coming back, Shikamaru?_ He then smiled to himself when he thought about what he had said to Ino about her friend-rival. _Since when did I_ _become so good at reading people?_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Choji was right: at this moment, if anyone wished to see the blonde prankster walk through the gates of the city, it would be Haruno Sakura. She was currently heading back with the rest of team seven from a capture mission. It had been a success, though she couldn't care less about that currently. Her mind was now preoccupied by how much things had changed since that night.

Silence had become the new standard after Naruto's departure. Since that last meeting, any form of humor or familiarity had become awkward. Not that Kakashi had become serious or morose – he seemingly hadn't changed at all, with the lateness and everything – but every time the three of them met, they were immediately reminded of the blonde's absence. She tried changing the atmosphere by being bright and cheerful. Her captain played along, but Sasuke systematically treated every attempt like an insult and reacted with anger. Fearing she might eventually cause her crush to hate her for real, the pink haired kunoichi eventually stopped.

Actually, the Uchiha prodigy was probably the one most affected by the recent events. He rarely talked, and he never laughed, let alone grinned. There was not even an ounce of humor or even sarcasm coming out of his lips. His mood suddenly dropped any time an allusion to his absent teammate was made, which was probably why he treated Sakura's attempts at lighting up the mood with such animosity. In that state of mind, he avoided all the places that had to do with the dobe and people that knew him, in particular the Rookie Nine and Team Gai.

He also trained a lot. In fact that was the only thing he did besides taking part in missions. Having sometimes nothing better to do than following her beloved, Sakura often found him in the Konoha library studying various seals, or at a deserted training ground letting out his worry and sour mood on the poor targets. Once, she saw him pound against a tree with such passion that his hands had become bloody. Unable to bear to see her teammate wounding himself like that, she intervened. To her great surprise, he didn't resist. As she silently tended to his bloody hands, she heard him mutter, "This is all my fault". After that, he hadn't done anything as reckless, but his gloominess had increased.

As for her, she never felt as useless as she did now. She knew she had never contributed much to the team, but now that she had fill the hole the missing blonde had left, she had to push herself to past her limits, draw out potential she never thought she had, and still it wasn't enough. Fortunately, seeing how their performance was going down, Kakashi worked a little more seriously. That didn't help Sakura feel any better about herself. She was only grateful Sasuke had become mute; she felt that one of his remarks would have probably killed her.

Like the jounin had said back then, she finally understood Naruto's role in Team Seven: In more ways than one, he was responsible for the success of Team Seven so far. He was the one who pushed his teammate to surpass himself. He and Rock Lee had been instrumental in her decision to better herself. He had also been a decisive factor when push came to shove.

On a lighter side, he alone contributed to the warm and fun atmosphere around Team Seven. He had proved able help Uchiha open up and even smile. He was the one who always voiced out loud what she was thinking inside. Without him, Kakashi's lateness wasn't so much to laugh at anymore, and missions became dull. She also realized Sasuke only ever looked at her as another human being when Naruto was around; as if only his presence reminded him he was in a team. He was particularly sensible to everyone's feelings, even though she now knew the boy's feelings needed more attention, attention he sadly never got from his teammates.

He was the invisible glue of his genin companions, and they had thrown him away like unwanted trash. No wonder their squad captain was so disappointed in them. No wonder everything seemed to have lost its flavor. No wonder the prospect of never seeing the blonde loudmouth again was horrifying.

The team finally reached their training grounds. Faithful to his prior words, Kakashi vanished after congratulating them for their effectiveness. With only the two of them alone like this, the fleeting thought of flirting with Sasuke passed through the kunoichi's mind. A sad smiled appeared on her lips; in any other circumstances, she would have killed Naruto if he came right now. She turned around, half expecting the blonde to appear with his silly grin. The reminiscence only served to shake her already troubled heart. She left her teammate alone and headed home, tears streaming from her eyes.

_Naruto, please come back._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Team Seven and Team Ten weren't the only people affected by the prolonged absence of the two young shinobi. Elsewhere, Neji, the Hyuuga genius, was in a contemplative state, that is, until a kunai flew in his direction. Without even turning his head, he caught it by the handle. He knew only one person would do this as a greeting.

"Tenten."

"What's up?" said the kunoichi as she dropped from a nearby tree.

"How is Lee?"

The smile she had until now faded a bit. "Reckless as usual; when I went to visit, he was busy hopping around his room on one hand. I had basically had to threaten him back to his bed."

"I can't blame him; the whole town his in the rebuilding process. To him, doing nothing is nothing but torture." He paused. "Staying still isn't like him."

Tenten pondered on what he said for a moment, and then looked at her teammate. "Speaking of which, how come _you_'re not training? You and Rock Lee are the most training focused people I know. Well, I'm also a perfectionist when it comes to target practice so I guess we're three of a kind."

"I was just thinking about Konoha for a moment. Things are changing."

"You're telling me; everything's gone into overdrive since the chuunin finals. I guess it's because there isn't new Hokage yet."

The Hyuuga did not reply. Of course Tenten was right, but this wasn't what he had in mind. The Kyuubi announcement, for example, led him to believe a more serious change was taking place. The mentality of the higher ups might be changing. In the end however, it was as his teammate had said: the Fifth would be crucial to what might happen and, in a way so would Naruto. As he thought about all of this, he couldn't help but feel Shikamaru knew much more than he had assumed and that his friends were in far greater trouble than the genin had let on. Furthermore, he was now certain that the mission he and Naruto were currently on was somehow tied to the prior events. And besides all that, he still left him out of the loop.

_He and I will have a lot to talk about when they get back._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Meanwhile, Kiba and Shino were trailing their teammate without her knowledge. It seemed as of late that Hinata was aimlessly wandering about after their training session, which was more than unusual according to Inuzuka clan member. Of course this was all Kiba's idea; Shino simply followed to ensure his partner didn't make a fool out of himself. After a half hour of "going nowhere" according to the dog user, Hinata finally stopped in the merchant district of Konoha.

"And now she stops here. Any idea why she came? It's not like the Hyuuga usually come around here, especially people from the main branch."

Shino, who had gradually become more concerned for his teammate as her so-called roaming pattern became familiar to him, simply pointed to a ramen stand nearby.

"Uh? What am I supposed to look at." he peered at the people eating at the stand and recognized his old teacher. "Isn't that Iruka? Ehh!? Don't tell me Hinata has a crush on our old teacher!?"

"This is Ichiraku's ramen stand: Uzumaki Naruto's favorite place." corrected Shino.

Kiba suddenly fell into complete silence. It all made sense now. He looked at the Hyuuga heiress again.

"Hinata…"

Shino put his hand on his friend's shoulder: it was now time to leave their teammate alone. As they walked, away Kiba wore a resolute expression.

"That bastard better come back soon, or I'll hunt him down and he'll wish he had never taken that stupid mission."

"Agreed." replied his partner.

As for the third member of team eight, she carefully observed as her old teacher left the ramen stand rather distraught. She guessed he shared her worries about Naruto. He had been gone awfully long on his mission after all. After he turned the corner of the street to finally disappear from her view, Hinata headed for one of the seats herself. She had decided that today she would eat here. After all, this was the place where Uzumaki Naruto usually ate, and she knew herself enough to know that she would never build the courage come here while he was in town.

Seated as comfortably as she could, she ordered a bowl of ramen. The owner of the store greeted her and poured a healthy portion into a bowl. She took a bite: this was better than she had anticipated it to be. She quickly finished and asked for another flavored bowl. Teuchi smiled and complied, and then left the store in Ayame's hands, seeing there weren't that many customers that day. The waitress made sure her father had clearly left before striking up a conversation with the young heiress.

"So you finally came in, huh?"

Hinata looked around in order to see who she was talking about, but it was apparent that the waitress was looking at her. "What? M-me? I don't understand."

"You're a friend of Naruto aren't you?"

Hinata didn't answer, she blushed.

"I saw you hanging in the background a couple of times. Only where he was around though, so I got suspicious"

Hinata let out a meek cry. "I-…I can explain…" she started, but Ayame didn't let her finish.

"Don't worry," she added with a wink, "this is a secret between us girls, OK?" Then more secretly: "So, what do you think about him?"

The way she remained silent and averted the waitress' eyes were more eloquent than anything she could come up with. Finally composing herself, she answered "I admire and respect him."

"I see, well whatever the case, you have my support; Naruto's a good guy."

The tact and warm smile of the waitress convinced the shy kunoichi that she wasn't someone to be afraid of. She gratefully smiled back. She envied the girl facing her a little. She saw Naruto everyday and from what she could see, they were well acquainted. She wished that she had the circumstances – or the courage – to do the same. She sighed and went back to her eating.

"Speaking of Naruto, any news?" asked the ramen girl.

"No, nobody has heard about him for almost two months now."

"Hmm…"

Both girls spent some time in silence, thinking about the absent loudmouth that should have been there.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

It was dark when Shikamaru opened his eyes again. He would have had trouble figuring out what was what if it wasn't for the light of the fire burning strong close by. Next to the fire was their target. To his left, Naruto was sleeping like a log. He tried taking a deep breath; it wasn't as painful as this morning. He figured he'd be able to sit up or even crawl if needed. That was good, because it meant his recovery wouldn't take as long as he thought. He sat up

"You're awake" simply stated the man by the fire, without looking at him. The genius concluded he had the byakugan activated: pretty useful when keeping watch.

"I guess I am." He paused. But after a moment the question that was in the back of his mind suddenly surfaced. "Why did you really save us?"

His interlocutor quickly understood that he wasn't talking to someone that was easily convinced. He sighed before answering. "Before I left Konoha, I was a… personal tutor, you might say. So I guess I don't like harming children, even if they are shinobi."

Shikamaru observed him carefully before observing "That's probably not the full reason, but let's say I believe you. Thanks anyway; I owe you one."

The silence came back. However a few moments later, it was Kohaku's turn to seek confirmation: "You're not really a genin, aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"The plans you devised, and the way you used that grenade… you even protected your tenkestu points. A genin wouldn't be that knowledgeable. Actually that earlier display was close to jounin level."

_Che; guess it can't be helped._ He was doomed to be considered chuunin material. He smiled though; this reminded him of the "game" he played with his father.

"I could say yes and no; technically, I'm not an official chuunin, but I guess it's just a matter of time now. He doesn't know though." he said, pointing at his friend. "Don't tell him." he added. "Anyway, why are you coming back towards Konoha?"

The Hyuuga frowned and remained silent. Shikamaru guessed he was overstepping his bounds. The silence that ensued lasted for about a half hour. During that time, the veteran fighter used his byakugan in order to keep an eye on the boy next to him: not once did he turn around to look at him. From his expression, he looked like he didn't care at all. Finding the silence soporific, Kohaku decided to ask about another topic that bothered him.

"Why were you two so forward when you confronted me? Shouldn't you have tried to ambush me?"

"I'm not obligated to answer that." he simply stated. Then after a few moments of silence: "Nah, I'm just messing around. I guess I ought to tell you, since you gave us an honest account of such an important match.

"Actually, this was this guy's idea." He began, pointing again at his teammate. "At first I obviously objected. The idea hadn't even crossed my mind. After all we're trained to 'attack swiftly from the safety of the shadows', to cite ninja rule number 11. So I had already figured a couple of ways to ambush you and I wanted to share my ideas, but he was so adamant about his suggestion that the idiot simply refused any other way than his own.

So the last thing left for me was to find a counter argument convincing enough to make him shut up and listen. However the more I thought about it, the more his idea seemed like the right one; we were already acting like civilians when we came into town and had already a friend here. The way things were worked in our favor; any attempt of assassination within the town would become hazardous since we were nothing but poor farmers, so I presumed you wouldn't try anything as long as we were within the walls as that would make you lose your place here.

Anyways, the results talk louder than any other reason. I'm sure if this had been one of my ambush ideas, we would have probably been dead by now. That's Naruto for you, I guess."

"Naruto…" that name was familiar to the Hyuuga. "So he's—"

"…the Kyuubi host." finished the chuunin. "Got a problem with that?"

The Gentle Fist user hardened his gaze. "The Kyuubi is a despicable creature that should have never seen the light of day. The amount of power such a destructive force has is frightening."

Shikamaru said nothing.

"Naruto, however, is quite the phenomenon; I never met someone like him. I think he'll grow up to become someone to look out for."

The boy wore grim smile thinking about all the trials that waited for both him and his friend in the near future. "If only it was that simple."

"No doubt things will be hard because of who he is, but there are laws made to protect him."

Shikamaru looked at him. The man probably meant the laws made by the Third. Seems he didn't know about the latest developments.

"The Third's dead." he announced bluntly.

"The Hokage died!?" Kohaku' shock was expected from someone from the Leaf. "How did that happen?"

"Orochimaru."

"He was… a great man." said Kohaku, remembering the kind elder who used to be his leader.

"Yeah, he was."

"So what he said about fighting to return home…?"

"Was true, I'm afraid. The situation's that bad over there." Then he added to himself, "Not that things are that much better for me at the moment."

He didn't have to explain further, the old warrior knew exactly what Naruto was going through. He felt sorry for them: there was Great Ninja War now, and still they were nearly driven to a suicide mission.

There was another long silence. Kohaku felt like telling them a little about his plans wouldn't hurt; they had their own problems to deal with.

"Revenge: that's what I'm after."

Shikamaru said nothing, but hid a smile. _I hoped he was going to say something like that_. He fell into a deep reflective state: suddenly, the prospect of Team Oblivion accomplishing this S-rank mission came back from the dead.

_**What could be the idea taking shape in Shikamaru's mind? Will it be enough to finally capture the Hyuuga?**_

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**A/N: ****Update! In less than a year! *cough* Anyway, Enjoy. I'm hoping to close this ark within the next two chapters.**

**PS: Profile. Poll. Fanfics. Vote. Thanks.**


	21. The Hyuuga Tragedy

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**21****. The First Mission: The Hyuuga Tragedy**

_**What's this? Will they really complete their impossible task!**_

The morning after Kohaku and Shikamaru's talk, Naruto decided to resume his training. According to his partner, he couldn't hope refining his chakra control past the point he was currently at, which was between intermediate and expert chuunin level. Shikamaru thought it was more than enough for the genin considering the ridiculous amount of chakra he had at his disposal. He didn't have new jutsu to learn either, so all that remained was his focus on taijutsu.

Learning from Shikamaru that Kohaku was once some sort of instructor, Naruto asked him to help him train. At first he refused: he only knew gentle fist techniques and only a byakugan user would be able to use them to its full potential. To what Naruto argued "I don't care about those moves; just spar with me and teach me how to move as fast as you do!" Having nothing to say against that, the Hyuuga agreed. He only sparred with him and pointed the various flaws and improvements the genin should take note of, but that alone was more than Naruto could have hoped for.

Shikamaru occupied his time with the study of seals. He had found them useful and fun, so he wasn't against furthering his own knowledge on the subject. He also noticed his body retained more and more of the "white chakra" as the days went by. It was also easier to produce now; that sounded promising. He hoped that within a couple of months, he'd be able to lessen the time he had to spend in "Absolute Control" state, if not erase the need to use the Jutsu altogether.

Three days passed and by that time Shikamaru was once again able to walk. He was glad the Gentle fist user hadn't attempted to attack a particular chakra coil. Because of his spread out attack, his chakra system took less time in order to recover. In fact, the reason they had to wait until the third day to leave was more because of his broken ribs. He still hadn't fully recovered, but according to the Hyuuga, he was still able to spar a little and even defend himself if the need presented itself.

The group decided to move out at that time. They couldn't travel at full speed because of the chuunin, so the trip back would take another two to three days. That was fine by Naruto; that gave him more time to train with the Taijutsu specialist. Still, getting beat up day in and day out frustrated the blonde genin a little, so he decided to "spar" – read: take out his anger – on his partner. Of course the chuunin was quite reluctant, even if they weren't full fledged fights. But since it was either that or a moody Naruto, Shikamaru decided to take one – or in this case several of them – for the team.

In one of those spars, and after a particularly humiliating training session, Naruto thought it would be beneficial for Shikamaru's training to face a group. Of course he thought of going easy on him, so they were only three clones. Shikamaru however, thought he wasn't physically fit for such a demanding exercise. He jumped back and tried using the Body Flicker technique; only he used the other type of chakra instead of the regular one. As a result he didn't move a foot. He cursed his lack of attention and prepared to defend himself, since one of the clones was already upon him.

This Naruto threw a punch which, to the amazement of Shikamaru, was incredibly slow. He thought this was his friend's doing and tried to punch the clone, but his own arm had been slowed down as well: everything was in slow motion. Seeing his attack wouldn't reach his opponent in time, he parried instead and jumped back. Still in midair, he felt a sharp pain in his head; meanwhile, time seemed to flow back to normal. The simultaneity of these events threw Shikamaru off balance and he fell down, hard. He sat up, head still throbbing and was quickly rejoined by Naruto and Kohaku, who had been supervising the little bout.

"Shikamaru, are you okay?" he grinned sheepishly. "Maybe it was too early to pull that one on you."

"Gee, you think?" he let out accusingly. "But I'm fine, I guess… besides this troublesome headache."

As for Kohaku, he seemed to have something else in mind than the Nara's fall. "Shikamaru… for a moment, your arm…?"

Shikamaru played dumb. "…Yeah?"

"…never mind. Forget it, I must have imagined it."

The Hyuuga walked away. Had his byakugan been active, he would have noticed the genius was smiling; Shikamaru knew exactly what he was talking about. He knew now what happened, and more importantly, how to make happen again.

_I think just found out something __**very**__ useful__._

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T he next morning, Kohaku announced his departure. Naruto was most displeased.

"You said you were going to Konoha with us!" he whined.

"And I did… to a certain extent. If I entered town with you two and were discovered, you would be called either traitors or incompetent: neither are very flattering."

The blonde genin was disappointed. He had hoped he would have more occasions to spar with the Taijutsu expert but he realized asking him for one last bout would kind of ruin the mood.

"Well," said the Hyuuga "I'm off. We probably won't meet again."

He leapt onto the nearest tree and disappeared from the sight of the two younger shinobi.

Naruto sighed. "Oh well. It's just you and me now; so what now?"

"I guess we just head back and abort the mission." Replied his teammate

Naruto said nothing. He still felt like it was too soon to give up on their mission, but now that he had met their target and that he had saved Shikamaru's life, he wasn't so sure about what to do. He decided he simply had to accept this outcome. At least he knew he wouldn't be alone to face whatever waited for him back in Konoha.

Besides, it wasn't like Naruto was coming home empty-handed; he was now much stronger than when he had left. New Jutsu, better control, a better grasp of hand to hand combat… a new friend… all around he was coming back a whole new Naruto.

"Man I can't wait to show everybody what I've learned;" he bragged, "Sasuke's going to be so jealous when I—"

Shikamaru cut him abruptly. "You won't be telling them anything."

"What!"

The chuunin felt that came out wrong and tried again. "Well, you can, if you want, but hear me out first. Naruto, what do you think is your greatest strength?"

"… my chakra?" answered the blonde a bit unsure. "Maybe the Shadow Clone technique? Or is it my wind element chakra nature? Kohaku did say it was a very good type for close range fighters…"

But the genius shook his head. "Those are all good, but what I'm talking about is better than that. Your best weapon is creativity."

Naruto cocked his head. "I don't get it."

Shikamaru couldn't blame him; this wasn't something flashy or that people looked out for. "You probably haven't realized this but there is one thing in common with every opponent who lost against you so far, in fact I think it was the reason with were able to get a draw out of our match against Kohaku: they all underestimated you. You have a gift Naruto: I don't think anyone is able to predict what your next move might be, not even me." And for Shikamaru, that was basically unheard of.

Naruto slowly began to see the direction his partner was taking. "You're saying, the more they underestimate me, the easier it'll be for me to surprise them, right?"

"Yep, that's it: the most effective attack is the one they'll ever expect. Of course I'm not telling you to hide your potential forever or not to tell anybody; I'm just suggesting you be careful with whom you share your new moves."

"Also," this time, the chuunin's expression was bit more grave, "it would be wiser to wait a while and see who your friends and enemies are when we get back; the less the council knows about this the better."

Shikamaru had been somewhat vague, yet Naruto knew exactly what he was talking about: Genta. Considering his predicament, this precaution was wise advice. Of course, since Naruto and Shikamaru didn't know who worked under the council member, they had even more reason to keep their progress a secret. The less "they" knew about their current abilities, the less dangerous would be the measures taken against the duo.

That point served to remind him he had another problem waiting for him when he got home in the shape of his "teammates". The moment was soon coming. Had they missed him? Were they worried? Did they even care? Apprehension was building steadily. To take his mind of all his worries, he started to think about things he wanted to do when he got back home.

About an hour after Kohaku left, Naruto noticed that his partner was looking around, acting like he was making sure they weren't being followed.

"Uh, Shikamaru, what are you doing?" he asked, a bit perplexed.

"Naruto, I have a serious question to ask you: What do you think about this whole mission?"

"Well you were right: it was suicide." He answered mockingly. However, he gave the question some thought. "Something's wrong." He finally stated. "I don't understand why a guy like Kohaku would become a missing nin. Actually, if I didn't know better, I'd say this was some kind of big joke…

Shikamaru didn't comment on what his friend had just said, but he agreed. To him, a missing nin returning to his own country was beyond stupid. It definitely pointed to suicidal tendencies. From what he had heard from Kohaku he concluded he probably was in a kill or be killed mentality. Not good.

He continued with his inquiry. "Let's suppose he needed our help; if you had to choose between completing the mission and helping him, which one would you pick?"

Naruto didn't hesitate a second. "Both, of course!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto, you can't—"

"Don't care! I'll find a way to do both!" he declared.

The chuunin shrugged; Naruto was crazy. Then again; they say there's only one step between genius and madness. "Fine then: let's come up with something. First things first, we need to find out what he's going to be doing in Konoha."

Shikamaru told Naruto about his little dialog with their target in detail before taking out the scroll containing the mission that almost killed him and read it meticulously. He then froze.

"What is there something wrong?" asked Naruto.

The chuunin handed the scroll to Naruto. "Take a look for yourself."

According to the briefing, he had only one reason to be wanted by Konoha: he had broken into the main branch residence and taken the Hyuuga heiress hostage.

Naruto paled as he re-read the last part. "'Hyuuga heiress'… They don't mean…"

Shikamaru nodded. "It was about six years ago, so I'm pretty sure they _are_ talking about Hinata."

Naruto silently gave the scroll back. "I guess there's something more to do then. We've got to finish the mission, help Kohaku, and I have to punch him in the face!"

The Nara heir smiled cynically as he looked at the cloud. _And he says those things like they were actually possible to do, _he thought. Still, he answered "Good, then let's get a move on."

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Three hours later the duo arrived in their village. They could have been there sooner, but Shikamaru suggested they take a detour. For Shikamaru's plan to work, they needed to move incognito; so they made their way home through the Nara Forest. At the end of the maze of trees was the deer field Shikamaru was so familiar with. He couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw his home. He was wondering if his mother was home when he suddenly heard someone moving behind them. He turned at the same time as Naruto in order to face… Shikaku.

"Shikamaru!" he asked, pleasantly surprised. "And you're Naruto?"

"Hey dad." He answered after a sigh of relief.

The Nara grabbed his son by the shoulders. "Where the heck have you been! You've been gone for almost two months. Do you have any idea how mad at me your mother is at the moment?" He then remembered his son had come from the forest. "Are you okay?" he asked quickly scanning for injuries.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just needed to get back home with the least people knowing, that's all."

"So, I guess this means still something you have to do?" he noted. "But let's talk about that when we get home: if your mom found out I held you out there too long she'd kill me."

Shikamaru smiled: he was most definitely home.

"Oh! And of course you're also invited Naruto."

The genin smiled and accepted the invitation. He took the opportunity to comment about the forest.

"There's no wall protecting this part of Konoha; enemy ninja might try to attack through the forest."

"They already did" simply answered Shikamaru, and seeing Naruto's surprised looked he added "they all died."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"How?"

"Nobody knows." he answered mysteriously. "But our clan claims it has something to do with the deer and the guardians of the forest."

Naruto gulped. He was glad he never thought of ever going there by himself.

When they entered the Nara household, and after Shikamaru was hugged, then thoroughly chewed out by his mother, the three shinobi sat around dinner in order to discuss team Oblivion's current mission. Shikaku was brought up to speed and the chuunin exposed his plan. They concluded they needed two things: First, the help of the head of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Hiashi, preferably unbeknownst to him; after that, they needed a way to prevent the branch family seal's activation. Luckily, Shikamaru's father could provide both rather quickly.

"Just leave that to me." said Shikaku. "I suppose you'd want to put your plan in motion as soon as possible so I'll prepare everything for tomorrow evening. How does that sound?"

"Perfect." Shikamaru then turned towards his teammate. "Naruto, tonight you're staying with us: we'll need to go over our plan again."

Shikamaru's mother looked like he wasn't going to let him leave either way; Naruto agreed. Besides, he had just been invited to his first sleepover ever; he'd be nuts to want to leave now.

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The next morning, when Choji woke up he noticed someone by the widow of his room.

"Hey."

"Shikamaru!"

"How have you been?"

"Overworked." he replied casually. "You…?"

"I'm a chuunin, now."

Choji nearly choked on his food. "You're a what now?"

Shikamaru smiled; he was really enjoyed this moment. His best friend was the first person he had told about his promotion: Naruto had been none the wiser during this mission. All was well in the world.

"I'll explain everything. Hope you're comfortable; this might take a while. …"

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"Lord Hiashi, This came from Nara Shikaku." said a shinobi. Of course, he was a Hyuuga.

The current head of the Hyuuga clan snorted; Nara Shikaku wasn't a shinobi he particularly liked, but he had earned his respect. The man was considered by all to be _The_ strategist of Konoha, that and he was also the head jounin, making him his superior in a way; Very few were above him in position. Hiashi took the scroll from his personal guard and dismissed him. He took a seat in his study room and carefully observed the unsealed missive before opening it. He had barely begun to read it when the scroll almost slipped out of his hands. He finished reading the scroll and, after burning it, sat down thoughtful. He remained in this state for about two hours, the silence of his reflections only broken by a name.

"Kohaku Hyuuga."

A few hours of solitude later, he called his guard.

"I am leaving…" he stated

"Of course, Lord Hiashi. I will gather the rest of—"

"Alone," finished the imposing jounin.

"Ah… y-yes, of course, lord Hiashi." stammered the man. "Your orders, sir?"

"Keep a close eye on my children while I'm away."

The guard left. Hiashi changed clothes and left for the place mentioned in the note. He was surprised by his own calmness; maybe the prospect of finally closing the part of his life linked to Hyuuga Kohaku was more of a weight off his shoulders than he had imagined. He didn't understand why he had to meet with Shikaku alone – he usually was a more cautious man – but at moment, all that mattered to him was the result. And he would make certain he would have the one he wanted.

The meeting that happened wasn't quite the one expected. The first thing he noticed was a kunai aimed at his head, followed by explosives. He evaded all them with the graceful movements attributed to his clan. Finally, his foe appeared, cloaked. He threw some more projectiles and mixed it up with some long distance jutsu. Hiashi was ready to engage in close combat when he remembered the scroll he had received just then. He silently thanked Shikaku: He might have played right into his opponent's hand if he hadn't known better.

Instead of using the byakugan, the leader of the Hyuuga clan simply made use of a special seal. As expected, the opponent staggered before falling on one knee. The look on Hinata's father at this moment was a mix of hate and fascination.

"So you really did come back, Hyuuga Kohaku."

"…How?" asked the man visibly in pain.

"I was informed that you were in the vicinity. Though I'd like to know how that Nara was able to find out so soon."

"Nara…" the man quickly understood the implications of that name.

"Any last words?"

Kohaku said nothing; his eyes spoke for him.

"So be it." replied the Hyuuga, ready to break his mind.

Suddenly, the whistling of yet another kunai came to the ears of Hiashi. He dodged instinctively. Quickly realizing he had lost his hold on Kohaku, the jounin turned around to see two more shinobi kneeling besides him. For a moment he feared they were trying to help him. A second look informed him they were actually restraining him. Maybe they were trying to capture him. It didn't matter to him. He simply had to use the seal and everything would be dealt with. He did just that, yet the other man did not react the same way as last time.

"If you're trying to use your seal on him, that won't work." Said a voice he quickly found annoying.

"Do not interfere;" he warned, "this is Hyuuga business."

"Actually," replied the same voice, "you're the one who's actually interfering:" he said taking out his official scroll, "this is our business."

"I'm the one who requested this mission." He argued back, recognizing the scroll.

"Then you're free to do whatever you want to him _after_ the mission is finished; in other words: once we get paid. And since our reward is at the Konoha tower…"

The Hyuuga clan leader flinched. How could someone have the gall to talk back and even try to put him at his place – and succeed? It was then he recognized the familiar raven hair tied up in such a ridiculous fashion.

"Nara… and Uzumaki?" he added after identifying the Kyuubi host.

The chuunin simply smiled; so far everything went just as planned.

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Naruto was glad they had interfered at just the right moment. He had expected the fight between the two Hyuuga to last a little bit longer, but Hiashi had been quick to identify his foe. Thanks to the special tag Shikaku had given them, they were able to prevent Kohaku's mind from being permanently damaged, but that wouldn't last for long, So while his teammate was arguing with the clan leader, he warned his captive against attempting anything stupid since, he lied, the effects of the tag had already worn off and he would likely be found out. This was only a precaution however, since the handcuffs the criminal now wore were made to prevent one from using his chakra.

When he saw that Hinata's father had visibly resigned himself not to interfere, Naruto thought it was now time to go ahead with his to-do list. Upon a quick revision however, he concluded he had to proceed in a different order, so the first thing he did was punch Kohaku in the face. He didn't know if it was because of their first encounter or due to their subsequent spars, but he felt something extremely gratifying from finally being able to connect a blow and making the Hyuuga bleed.

"This is for Hinata," he simply stated as he towered over the culprit still on his knees.

Hiashi said nothing but secretly thought if that was the kind of relation they had with Kohaku, leaving him in their care wouldn't be such a bad idea. This was enhanced by the fact that they supposedly knew about what the man had done to his daughter.

"Now," Naruto said, calming down, "tell us why you tried to harm Hinata."

The one called to answer simply glared at Hiashi without saying a word. The one being glared at also stayed silent; deep down the genin's question was his as well. Next to Naruto, Shikamaru watched each of their expressions thoroughly. Naruto frowned. _Stupid silence_, he thought.

"Come on, I don't know you that well but even _I_ can see you're not the kind of guy who would do something like that," argued Naruto, " so why—"

"I didn't!" cut Kohaku sharply. Then he took a deep breath. "I would never—"

"Don't you dare lie in front of me!" shouted Hiashi, apparently ready to activate the seal again.

"I'm not lying," he answered sharply. "I'd never stoop to killing children," Shikamaru noticed he had said that last part with barely tamed animosity, "especially not her!"

"And who'd believe you after what you did?"

"Why don't you ask your own daughter then?" He asked cynically.

At that time the familiar voice of a girl interrupted everyone present in their tracks.

"Uncle Kohaku!"

None of the four boys had recovered from their surprised before the Hyuuga heiress had time to run and hug her uncle, oblivious to the fact that he was on his knees. Hiashi was particularly shocked: how had she found her way here? Where were her guards? And most important: why was she so happy to see the one_ who almost murdered her_?

"You've been gone so long I thought something bad had happened to you. I missed you."

Seeing such a sweet and innocent expression on her face, Kohaku couldn't help his lips curving into a small smile. "You've grown, Lady Hinata."

Her bright smile almost made him forget his current state. Leave it to Hiashi to save him from such a mistake.

"Hinata!" snapped Hiashi.

"Father…?" the girl was surprised by her father's harsh tone.

"Step away."

"But…" It was only then that Hinata noticed the current state of her uncle. "Uncle Kohaku…? Why are you...?"

"Because he tried to murder you." answered her father, subtly softening his expression

"That's…" Her pleading eyes looked at the accused. "Uncle Kohaku…?"

Then man averted his eyes. "No… not you."

"Uh… excuse me?" The Hyuuga family reunion came to a halt. The byakugan users then looked at Naruto, who seemed upset at being ignored for so long. "I think _now_ would be a good time to answer my question: if you didn't try to kill her, then why the hell does it say so there!" he asked, pointing at the scroll he had taken from Shikamaru.

"I think I can answer that." It was now Shikamaru's turn to be the center of attention. He didn't like it. "Maybe then he can fill in the blanks." He said, pointing at Kohaku. "I don't think he is lying: he wasn't after Hinata. Judging his character, it would have been very hard for him to harm her, considering he was her instructor and all."

The three Hyuuga all looked at him in surprise. How did he figure that out? However, that meant almost nothing for Uzumaki who still tried to understand the situation.

"So it was just a misunderstanding then?"

"Yes and No; he wasn't after Hinata, he was after _her dad_."

Once again, Shikamaru had dropped a bombshell. Oblivious to their awestruck faces, Naruto continued his inquiry.

"So he was after Hiashi then. I guess it makes more sense now."

"Yeah, it does; revenge was the reason he came back, right? Hiashi must have done something to one of his loved ones."

Kohaku took a deep breath. Those two had already figured so much, so might as well 'fill in the blanks'. Besides, Hinata was also there: he didn't want her to think he was just some cold blooded killer.

"Not 'one of them';" he said, looking at the evening sky, "all of them. I came from a mission one day to find my home in ashes. I was told my wife and child were still in there when it burned to the ground. They also said…" he paused, visibly shaken by such an awful memory, "that their cries were heard by everyone in the vicinity; they were long and agonizing."

"It was an accident." simply stated Hiashi.

"'An accident'!" sneered Kohaku. "Kaede was a trained shinobi; there's no way she would have died if that fire was truly 'an accident'."

The head of the Hyuuga clan remained silent. Kohaku continued.

"When I was told Hiashi was the one behind this I couldn't believe it, so I went to confront him myself."

"…and?" nudged Naruto.

"I never got to him; I was welcomed by the Main house guards. I naturally defended myself… next thing I knew I was branded a traitor and running for my life."

Shikamaru was in a bind. From the information he had just gathered, he had pretty much figured out the whole incident, but how to share his findings with the ones directly involved when they were at each other's throat like that? From what he had seen between Hinata and Neji, the internal strife between Main and branch families were very delicate, especially since one false move and their target would have his mind permanently fried.

"Truly a heart wrenching story," commented an unimpressed Hiashi "but you seem to forget one detail: you trying to kill my daughter."

"I would never harm Lady Hinata!" shouted Kohaku.

It was Hisahi's turn the flare up. "Then why did my guards find you in the garden with her!" he questioned.

"Because I found her there! You knew I would never do anything to her; for all I know you probably sent her there so you could frame me."

"How dare you even insinuate I would even think using my own daughter as a mere pawn! First you accuse me of plotting murder and now this! Simply breaking your mind would be too light a punishment! I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in a living hell!"

"You already did when you killed my family!"

Naruto watched in disbelief as the story had degenerated in to threats and insults being volleyed back and forth between the two men. What were they trying to achieve by bickering? It seemed painfully obvious to him that something was wrong in their story. Couldn't they see nothing good was coming from this? With a glance he could see that all they were doing was breaking Hinata's heart. Tears were streaming down her face as she desperately looked from one family member to another. This was more than the blonde genin could bear, and since his partner was keeping quiet, it was up to him to put a stop to this.

"Gah! Shut the hell up!" said Naruto.

This outburst guaranteed he had everybody's attention, and so he proceeded with what was on his mind at the time. "I can't believe this! Do you even realize what you're doing! If you don't, take a good look! Look at what you're really doing." Naruto pointed at Hinata, who was still crying, and became almost white when Kohaku and Hiahsi were looking in her direction.

"You're not only driving your lives miserable, but you're pulling Hinata into it as well! First Neji, and now Hinata…" Naruto raised his hand in a dramatic way. If this is the way this clan behaves "then I swear on my nindo that when I become the Hokage I will destroy the Hyuuga!"

"Oi, Naruto," cautiously interjected Shikamaru "you realize you're talking about one of the most ancient and powerful houses of Konoha, right?"

The blonde simply snorted as he folded his arms. "I don't care! I don't need a clan who is harming its own family as much as its enemies."

There as heavy silence. Kohaku and Hiashi suddenly felt very childish and just ashamed enough that they couldn't go on with their debacle, or look at Hinata, who lowered her head in order to hide her tears. Even Shikamaru felt bad, for neglecting to take his fellow shinobi's feeling into account when he made the two men clash against each other.

At that moment, Shikamaru had an epiphany._ That's it! Hinata! She's the key to all this! I totally forgot to ask her for her version of the incident. Heck, I think pretty much everybody forgot to hear her side of the story._

The chuunin patted Naruto's shoulders "Thanks Naruto, you're a genius."

"'Course I am!" nodded the blonde gravely, before asking a little sheepishly "Uh, could you tell me why, though?"

Ignoring his teammate entirely, Shikamaru focused on the Hyuuga kunoichi. "Hinata, I know this must be painful for you, but me and Naruto are about to get to the bottom of this: could you lend us a hand?"

The fact that they could need her help surprised the girl a bit, considering the matter made no sense to her, but she timidly nodded anyway.

"Do you remember the day… they were talking about?"

There was a brief pause, then another light nod.

"Can you tell us why you were in that garden at that time?

She appeared thoughtful before answering "I was told to go there."

The older Hyuuga suddenly became very attentive to the ongoing interrogation. Shikamaru was hiding a smile; his speculation had appeared to be spot on: there was someone else involved in this mess. Furthermore, he now knew that this third party had close ties to the Hyuuga Main family if Hinata had obeyed so easily. It was a time to put an end to this little mystery. He asked his final question.

"Do you remember who asked you to go there?"

"Uncle Fusashi." She answered confidently.

Shikamaru looked at Kohaku and Hiashi; both looked like they had been struck by lightning. Hiashi staggered back and fell on the bench he was sitting on moments ago; the convict looked like he had died on his knees.

The chuunin grinned. _Checkmate._

"It can't be…" stammered Kohaku, the first to awake from his stupor.

Hinata's father still couldn't believe it. "No, this would mean…?"

Hinata looked at both of them quizzically. "What? Is something wrong?"

"He's the one who told me Hiashi had caused the fire." confessed the runaway shinobi.

"He… convinced me you were after Hinata." Added the Hyuuga head

"So this was a set-up." concluded Naruto triumphantly. "But why would he do that?"

"Power:" replied Kohaku, more to himself than to Naruto. "He's trying to get rid of all potential Hyuuga successors to secure the position for himself."

Hiashi suddenly shuddered. And to think: lately Fusashi had been suggesting a training trip for Hinata and Hanabi… the thought was enough to make him sick.

It took another while before the two adults finally faced each other, but this time in a whole new light.

"Hmph… I guess we totally made fools of ourselves." concluded Hiashi.

"Ha! Hizashi must be laughing at us from the grave right now." replied Kohaku, a bitter smile on his lips.

Naruto looked at the two men and beamed: It seemed like a heavy burden had been lifted from both their shoulders. This was obvious because even Hiashi was smiling, which was something Team Oblivion had never seen before. Hinata was wiping her tears and was smiling as well; things had gone behind his expectations.

"Mission accomplished?" he smugly asked his partner.

Shikamru replied with a fist bump.

"Definitely!"

_**Mission Accomplished!**_

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**A/N: ****Alright! Mission accomplished! Only one Chapter left for the end of the ark.**

**NB****: when Hinata says uncle she means uncle, as in Hiashi, Hizashi, Fusashi and Kohaku are all brothers.**

**PS: Profile. Poll. Fanfics. Vote. Thanks. Oh, and reviews are always nice. **


	22. Debriefing

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **The Laughing Phoenix**

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**22****. The First Mission: Debriefing**

_**The mission is over: Now what?**_

Unbelievable.

If there was one word to describe how Team Oblivion felt about their mission, this would be the only one to come to mind. Not even Naruto would have believed in two rookies being able to capture someone of Kakashi's level, yet they had just successfully completed their first S-rank mission. The two boys let the reality of the situation slowly sink in; the result was euphoric. Shikamaru's smile waned however, as he looked at his friend with concern.

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_E__arlier in the evening, Team Oblivion was finally ready to put their plan into motion. The two rookie shinobi had barely left the Nara estate when Naruto stopped his partner._

"_Shikamaru? I've been thinking… maybe it would be better if we don't take credit for capturing Kohaku."_

"_Why?" asked Shikamaru, genuinely surprised by this proposition._

"_Well… I thought about it and… well I kinda want things to go back to normal." he said, scratching his head nervously._

"…_Which will not happen if Genta thinks we actually defeated him?" asked Shikamaru warily._

"_Actually this is more because of everybody else." admitted Naruto. "They might think it was all due to… you know…"_

_Shikamaru knew. "Sure, I don't mind." he finally said._

_After that, the chuunin started thinking seriously, frequently throwing side glances at his partner as they walked to deserted area they were going to use for their plan. Naruto had just provided him with a new __angle on the recent unveiling. It was now actually separated into two problems. One: how to better the shinobi world's opinion of Naruto. Two: how to prevent the general public from finding out or at least not skew their judgment of the matter. On top of that they had to account for Genta plans if he still intended to use propaganda to slander the Jinchuuriki_

_**And here I was thinking the worst had come to pass.**_

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"Naruto, are you sure you want to go through with this?" whispered Shikamaru to his partner.

The blonde nodded. Shikamaru sighed: now that he had spent time with Naruto, he thought his whining to be shameful. Pity; the Nara loved to rant.

"Well I think it's time to go." said Hiashi solemnly.

Hinata's smiled disappeared. "So, you still have to go?"

Kohaku felt bad for his niece. "I'm sorry," he answered kindly. "Even if it was a misunderstanding, what I did was wrong."

Hinata was saddened at the prospect of losing her uncle again. She had just met him and he was now going away again, maybe for good. She somewhat understood what had to be done, but why do it? The matter had been settled: neither Hiashi nor Kohaku were to blame for all this mess, it was all Uncle Fusashi's fault. It had surprised the Hyuuga heiress though; her Uncles had always been so nice to her. Once again the clan's true nature was creating conflicts between people of the same family.

"Yes, but at least things are different now." said the Hyuuga leader. He looked at the two shinobi he had misjudged on so many levels. "I guess I'll leave him in your capable hands, then."

"Well actually…" said Naruto tentatively, "Could you do us a favour and bring Kohoku in?"

The clan leader raised an eyebrow. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Well, you see, in the end, you're the one who caught him," explained Naruto, "and it's not like they'll believe an S-class criminal was caught by two genin."

Hiashi wanted to correct Naruto but found more sensible not to comment. Shikamaru chimed in.

"Think of it this way; you still need to be there to explain the situation to them anyway."

Hinata's father felt too tired to object. It was an easy request to fulfill considering all the trouble the two teens had gone through to solve this mess. And he was definitely grateful. Like everything that had happened, this too must have had its reason.

"Fine, wait here." he said.

"Huh? Where are you going?" asked Naruto

"To make some preparations." he answered, getting up from the bench he had stumbled into earlier. "Hinata, we're leaving."

"Right, father." She started to run to her father, but stopped. She retraced her steps in order to face her comrades. "Naruto, Shikamaru, thank you."

And without waiting for their reply she ran back to her dad. Naruto and Shikamaru simply looked at each other and smiled. They waited until Hiashi and his daughter were out of sight to sigh and sit on the ground. It was only then that they realized how taxing the mission had been. They had been psychologically drained, and even if Naruto recovered way faster than Shikamaru, and had amazing stamina, traces of fatigue could still be seen all over his face. Still the results of all that hard work more than made up for it.

Kohaku looked at the teenagers. He had no idea their meeting would have led to this. He knew from his fight against them that they were special, but now he knew that these two were destined to do great things.

"Thank you." he finally said after contemplating the young shinobi again.

"Ah it's nothing." beamed Naruto. "Sorry for punching you in the face though."

"I wish there was something I could do to repay you." He said, ignoring what Naruto had said.

"Nah, it's fine." assured the blonde genin.

"You already did." said Shikamaru lazily. "You sparred with Naruto; that's about all the thanks he needs."

Naruto's grin grew wider and Shikamaru let his head fall back to look at the clouds. Kohaku appreciated their tactfulness, yet he was worried; if what Shikamaru had told him was true, Naruto was in more trouble than he could bear. After a brief pause, Kohaku spoke again.

"Is it really that bad?"

Team Oblivion quickly figured out what he meant and their expressions darkened. That alone was a sufficient answer.

After a tense moment, Shikamaru spoke up. "So far, yeah. But he's not alone, and he won't go down without a fight. So, when that time comes you'd better remember all that gratitude."

"Even if I'll be an inmate then?" he asked ironically.

"Of course!" joked Naruto. "I can totally see you causing an uprising with the rest of the Konoha criminals while we storm the city from the front."

When Hiashi came back, he found them talking like they had been friends all their lives. That put a brief smile on his lips. He envied them; the few people he had bonded with were so far away now, ironically because of him, too. He had sent one brother to his doom, and now he would have to arrest the last two.

After reassuring Team Oblivion about Kohaku's fate, the group marched towards the Hokage tower. Interestingly enough, Hinata had come along. Hiashi had told her to stay home, but for one of the rare times in her life, the girl refused to obey her father. To her surprise, he caved in pretty easily. In the end, Hiashi and Kohaku were leading the group, while the three rookies trailed not far behind. Seeing Hinata was too reserved to talk, Naruto and Shikamaru decided to go back to what had just happened.

Hinata worried as she heard them talk about her clan. They had a pretty good reason to badmouth the Hyuuga clan; she herself resented their questionable methods. But not all of them were bad.

Then suddenly, in the midst of their discussion, Naruto looked at her.

"Hey Hinata? What about Fusashi?"

"W-what about… U-uncle Fusashi?" simply repeated the girl, blushing under the blonde's stare.

"Yeah, I mean, he's your uncle right? How come you're not upset?"

Hinata tried to not look at him while she pondered. "I don't feel that close to Uncle Fusashi."

"Why?"

"He doesn't really like the Main family."

She hadn't gone into detail, but the duo kind of understood what she meant by that. And if what he had done to Kohaku was anything to go by when it came to the Branch family's behaviour… It seemed the Main branch wasn't all at fault.

"So, why aren't there more people like you?"

"Like… me?"

"Yeah, I mean, you didn't have anything against Neji and he was from the branch family, right?"

"W-well he's my cousin; I would never want something bad to happen to him."

"That's my point; why aren't there more people like you?"

The compliment flushed Hinata who remained silent for a moment. "There are." She finally said. She felt the other two boys' gazes on her; they were probably expecting a name.

"My… my father."

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at Hinata with a mix of doubt and surprise, which hurt the girl. She knew that Hiashi seemed cold and calculating to many, only thinking about the interest of the Main family, but that was just a façade he put up to please the elders. The same father that had said all those harsh words to Kurenai about her had apologized to her later in the privacy of her room. One moment he was scolding her for her failures, the next he was comforting her by a discrete holding of her hand or pat on the shoulder. Outside he was cold; in private, his warmth would surprise many. She had ultimately understood and accepted the mask Hiashi had to wear, unfortunately, people that weren't Hinata or Hanabi had no idea what he was truly like, which earned him his infamous reputation.

While she wasn't bothered by strangers misunderstanding her father, she simply could not accept that from her friends, and that went double for Naruto. She didn't want a chasm between the boy she admired and the family she loved.

Now, if only she could put those thoughts into words.

"My father… he is kind." she let out softly. She nearly slapped herself. _That sounded so much better in my head,_ she thought bitterly.

Team Oblivion exchanged a look.

Naruto's train of thought was simple: if Hinata was kind, and told him that her father was kind, then her father was most definitely kind. Besides he had only exchanged a few words with him and despite his coolness, the blonde could still pick up a positive vibe around him. Shikamaru shared that view for a different reason. He knew for a fact that if Hiashi was what he seemed to be, Hinata's uncle would've died already. A simple glance at the incident told him this whole affair could end up hurting the Hyuuga clan, making both the Main and Branch family look weak. If Hiashi had really cared about that he would have used the seal already; after all it'd be his word against that of two greenhorns.

The boys nodded at each other.

"I'm sure he is." agreed Naruto.

"What!"

Hinata was shocked. _They… they understand!_ Even Kurenai still felt contempt for her father, despite the fact that Hinata had explained everything to her. She shook her head: they probably didn't understand; they simply trusted her. That was also a good reason to feel happy. The three of them kept talking about the Hyuuga situation and this time the shy girl was able to put in a comment here and there. It also helped that she was frequently asked questions by the two boys.

Further ahead, the clan leader himself heard what was transpiring behind him and was left thoughtful.

_Uzumaki… Nara… those kids__…_

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When they arrived at the tower Shikamaru and Naruto let the two Hyuuga go report while they waited in the lobby, knowing they'd be eventually called in to clarify a few points. Hinata decided to stay outside, saying she had something to do. Once they made sure the kunoichi would keep quiet about their actions and whereabouts they went in. To Naruto's surprise, Choji was there waiting for them.

"Hey Shikamaru, Naruto." said the big boned kid between two mouthful of chips.

"Hey Choji." said a dumbfounded Naruto. The chuunin simply waved to his best friend.

"I always knew you were special… but I never knew you were also insane." He said with a smile

Naruto was confused. "What are you talking about, Choji?"

"Shikamaru told me everything." He simply said

"Everything?" He gave a side glance to his partner. When he nodded he beamed. "So that means you know how awesome I was, right."

"It also means I know you almost killed Shikamaru a couple of times." He retorted with a glare.

"Ah, yeah…" Naruto made a mental note: do not mess with Choji's friends.

"Psych!" chuckled the other blonde. "Want some chips?"

Naruto gladly accepted and the next moment they sat down and talked about what had happened during their absence. Naruto liked the atmosphere of camaraderie he found around the two friends. It was such a difference from the constant tension between him and Sasuke. And they didn't systematically ignore him like Sakura. He felt like he should spend more time with them. He hid a sigh: if only he had been put in Team Ten instead…

This pleasant moment came abruptly to an end when a shinobi simply appeared in the midst of the trio.

"Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, you've been summoned."

"Troublesome." sighed Shikamaru as he got up and stretched. "Well, we'll see you later Choji."

Meanwhile…

Hinata was still at the front door, trying to find the courage to go inside. She could only bear so much direct exposure to Naruto without embarrassing herself. Unfortunately, her romantic interest's sudden return, not to mention the fact that he had done so much for her in so little time had totally destroyed whatever self control she had before. Now the simple thought of the genin made her blush uncontrollably.

She sighed for the third time in the last minute and took a deep breath to try and psych herself up.

_Come on Hinata, you can do this. If you go in that lobby with them they might talk to you again. And who knows, maybe they might even invite you to eat ramen with them…_

_Ramen with Naruto…_

Hinata shook her head, trying to chase the fantasy out of her head, along with the crimson blush and the stupid smile plastered in her face all at once. Dreaming about it was one thing, but that outcome might actually become true if she could just go in. She took another deep breath and got ready to pull open the door when she heard someone calling after her.

"Lady Hinata, what are you doing here?"

She was startled by hearing her own name, but it soon turned into panic once she recognized her cousin accompanied by Rock Lee and Tenten.

"Neji!"

He had the uncanny ability to read her like an open book. If they talked too long she was sure he'd found out about Naruto's return.

"I um, I'm waiting for father." She answered truthfully.

"I see." Said the boy. However he had noticed that she positively refused to meet his gaze. "Something is not right here. What's wrong Hinata?"

"N-nothing! Nothing's wrong." She stammered. _He can read your mind; don't think about him. DON'T THINK ABOUT HIM!_ Unfortunately think of him she did, which translated into the slightest shade of pink appearing on her cheek; that was all Neji needed.

"Naruto's back." he guessed. Hinata snapped her head in his direction with a look of pure disbelief: that made him smile triumphantly. His cousin flinched, finally understanding she had been tricked.

"What, really!" asked Tenten, surprised at such a statement.

"And where is he now?" he asked his unwilling cousin.

"I don't know!" her tone was a bit aggressive, but her eyes betrayed her when they moved ever so slightly to her left.

"They're inside the tower." he deciphered.

She was now glaring at him, but since she still looked a little meek, the icy gaze looked more cute than scary. He felt pity for his younger cousin yet found this little game funny; he could get used to teasing her.

On another note he and the rest of his team were relieved that Naruto and Shikamaru had found their way back home. That also meant he'd get an opportunity to get answers to some of his questions.

"Well, I will wait for my rival and friend here, and we'll let fly the sparks of youth together." yelled Rock Lee, pretty much summing up the intent of team Gai.

Neji looked at Hinata and felt bad when he saw her suddenly looking sad. Maybe he had gone too far? He stepped forward in order to apologize when he was stopped by none other than Kiba.

"Neji! What are you doing to Hinata!" he asked, menacing.

The Hyuuga genius opted to divert his attention. "Nothing; she was just telling me that Naruto had come back."

"Neji!" she snapped. But the genin only shrugged. The secret was already out; if he hadn't told them his friends would have.

The Inuzuka member was too surprised by the news to notice Hinata's glare. His face immediately cleared up. "Whoa! Really? When?"

"I don't know but they're probably debriefing as we speak." He answered casually.

"What's with all the commotion?" asked a girl this time. It was Ino accompanied Choji.

"Naruto and Shikamaru are back." answered Shino as-a-matter-of-factly

Ino looked at her teammate. "Well, Choji, it seems you were right…"

Choji smiled: He had brought Ino because she'd be more than happy to see him again, but this…This would surely make Shikamaru groan.

He also noticed Hinata was glaring at him.

_Whoa, I wonder what her problem is. Maybe it was something she ate__?_

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Naruto and Shikamaru were currently in the council room. Hiashi had told the council that Kohaku had fooled them by helping them complete their mission, pretending to be a leaf nin. All that remained was for them to pretend they only had the bandit mission all along.

"So, this was all a fortunate circumstance?" finally asked a member of the council to Shikamaru.

"Yup." He answered lazily.

"And why did you not come here for debriefing?" another one inquired.

"It was late when we came back." he said.

"That does not explain us why you came back only just now after a mission which clearly didn't require that much time." said another voice.

"Actually, it did since we hadn't caught the leader of the bandit gang until the merchant village. At first, we thought driving them away was enough but after reconsideration, only taking care of part of the problem wouldn't be good advertisement."

No matter how everybody looked at it, Shikamaru's story made plausible sense.

"It seems you acted a bit too rashly:" Genta finally said, "Trying to accomplish a mission beyond what is required of you is often perilous, if not foolish. However, considering what you and Uzumaki have achieved, we are willing to let this go." He then turned towards the Hyuuga leader. "Is that all Hyuuga Hiashi?"

"I want to give out the sentence for the criminal since I was the one who issued the warrant."

"Very well; what do you propose?" said the council president, reminding Hiashi that the final word belonged to the council.

"One year under house arrest."

The sheer audacity of the proposition caused uproar. Shikamaru and Naruto did their best not to laugh.

"Lord Hiashi!"

"You do realize he has been missing for several years, killing many of our men?" asked Genta

"It was self defense." he answered indifferently. "Besides there wouldn't have been nearly as many casualties if you had followed my recommendations and sent Hyuuga after him." retorted the Jounin.

"W-well, we still can't allow the house arrest;" said the vice president. "The current circumstances prevent us from letting any criminal roam free at the moment."

"Besides, three years has always been the bare minimum for any crime whatsoever." stated one of the elders.

"Fine; three years of confinement, then." he conceded almost reluctantly.

"You do realize you're asking for imprisonment for someone accused of treason?"

"Don't worry;" he replied calmly, "he had perfectly valid reasons for his… misbehavior."

"And could you share these reasons with us, Lord Hyuuga?" asked Genta trying to pierce through his insolent façade.

"These concern internal Hyuuga affairs." The Hyuuga's tone was slightly colder.

"…I see we will not be able to arrive to a consensus at this rate." _At least, not until I know what those "internal Hyuuga affairs" were_, reasoned the president. "Let us discuss the matter of Hyuuga Kohaku's sentence at another time; anything else?"

"I have another case." said Hiashi.

After a sweep of the room, Genta simply nodded.

"Very well." Seeing he had been given approval, Hiashi made a hand gesture and two Hyuuga guards brought in a third member of their clan. He had shackles around his wrists and ankles. "I accuse Hyuuga Fusashi of the murder of Kaede and Kotestu Hyuuga."

"W—… what!" Fusashi seemed visibly shocked, because he became pale. But he quickly got over it and started yelling "This is preposterous! You'd accuse me of killing the family of my own brother!"

Murmurs could be heard from various members of the assembly. Genta raised a hand for silence.

"These are some grave accusations you bring here Lord Hyuuga." he finally said. "I believe an investigation had concluded the whole affair was an accident."

But Hiashi was ready for him "May I remind you that, at that time, the one responsible for this investigation was none other than the accused? Besides, a trained shinobi, especially a Hyuuga trained shinobi, simply does not die from 'an accident'."

"In any case, this council admits these are valid points and they do warrant inquiry of their own—"

"So you really think I'm the one behind the fire?" spat Fusashi, starting to lose his patience. "If that was so, wouldn't Kohaku target me instead of this man? I make a counter accusation: I accuse the Head Hyuuga of the murder of Hyuuga Kohaku's family!"

The council president frowned; he looked displeased with the new development. "We have arrived at stand-still. Let us postpone our meeting until we have sufficient information to—"

"I am deeply sorry, but I must object:" said the Hyuuga Clan head, "the council itself has mentioned that we are in a situation such that criminals, even potential ones, must not go free."

"That is true." said one clan head.

"What do you suggest then?" asked the council?

"Arrest us." his answer was pretty tempting. "In the meantime, an impartial investigation of what transpired years ago is in order. Of course," His expression suddenly became menacing "I hope you are prepared for the consequences of imprisoning the head of the Hyuuga."

"It is not our intention to start a feud between the Hyuuga and the rest of Konoha." said Genta. He then looked at Fusashi "Only one of you will be arrested."

"You'll regret this." He said to the council before turning towards his brother. "I hope you're ready for the reprimand the elders have in store for what you're doing Hiashi."

Hiashi completely ignored the threat. "Ah! So we're done? Good." He prepared to leave and called his guards. "Take them away and have them share the same cell."

"What?" the suspect's face changed from red to white at inhuman speed?

"Well that's hum… an unusual request." remarked one of the council members.

"That is not a request actually:" stated the Head of the Hyuuga clan. "Seeing as Hyuuga prisoners all fall under my direct control.

"W-wait… you have no right to do this!" He risked a glance a Kohaku; from the pure hatred that emanated from the man, Fushashi knew he had been found out; all the more a reason to stay away from him. Unfortunately, Hiashi knew as well and was pushing the right buttons.

"I believe I just did."

"He'll kill me." Begged Hiashi's brother.

"He won't: his grudge his against the main house, after all. I'm taking a big risk putting the two of you together. Who knows what you might plot together, after all, you're _family_." Only the people who knew about the plot felt betrayal hidden under his tone. "Unfortunately, since at the time most cells contain captured sound nin, I'll have to bear this… accommodation."

"Members of the council please… I'll be killed." He pleaded. "You must do something…"

Unfortunately, they couldn't: Hyuuga prisoners were dealt with by the Hyuuga; it was one the stipulations of the alliance. Having nothing more to say, Hiashi motioned for the guards to collect the new inmates. Fusashi glanced at the council, and when he was sure he would find no help from them he caved in.

"W-wait! Stop! I have… things to say to you, Hiashi… in private."

"Certainly." He turned back to the council "A moment please." He bowed curtly and excused himself for a brief moment. He came back with the prisoner in tow.

"Members of the council, it appears Hyuuga Fusashi has something to tell all of you." he said in a grave tone.

Fusashi spoke out. "F-first I would like to withdraw my accusation against Hyuuga Hiashi." He gulped audibly; he knew the next part was would destroys his current plans. Then again, better to live to plot another day than to face Kohaku in jail. "Second I… I admit being the one responsible for the fire that led to the deaths of—"

"You murderer! I'll kill you!" roared Kohaku as he vainly tried to lunge at his brother.

"Calm him down." Hiashi said with feigned disdain. "It seems everything has been settled, now if you'll excuse me…"

The Hyuuga left, followed by the guards and the prisoners.

"Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, you are also dismissed. Also, I expect a written report of the events of your mission in the next few days."

The two had at least the decency to leave the room before they burst out laughing. They did feel a bit uncomfortable with the way Hiashi had treated Kohaku's outburst, but it couldn't be helped. Their brief moment of enjoyment was soon interrupted by a clerk who had blocked their path to the main hall.

"Uzumaki, Nara, the head of the council wants to speak with you privately."

The two exchanged very telling looks.

"You think it's a trap?" asked Naruto seriously.

Shikamaru took a moment to think things through. "Nah, he's not the type to use abduction or assassination in broad daylight."

Naruto agreed and so the duo stepped in the office with which Shikamaru was starting to become familiar. Genta got directly to the point.

"What would it take to have you work for me?" he asked, looking only at Shikamaru.

"…As in, me? May I be so bold as to ask why?" he retorted.

Genta's eyes narrowed. "Please don't insult me: I know you are much more involved in the whole Hyuuga affair than you've told us."

"I kind of figured we wouldn't be able to hide it from you." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

Genta stiffened. "I'm flattered" but he soon relaxed again and pursued his offer. "You are talented and have great potential: Konoha needs people like you."

"Konoha? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Only that I have I mind only what's best for Konoha," he answered, "but I need capable people to support me and do the things I can't do."

"I see, and what about Naruto?"

"Well, we did start on the wrong foot. But my offer can extend to the both of you. Of course," he smirked, "I might need you two for different tasks."

Shikamaru's interest in the proposition had been decreasing steadily during the little interview, but it plummeted into the nearest bottomless hole when he heard the last answer "I see… well, we'll think about it."

"Nara, you should really think about this." warned the president.

"Of course." said the chuunin dismissively. "How about we have this conversation again after we have a Hokage again?"

"Nara…!" started Genta. He was obviously losing his patience; however, an unfamiliar voice interrupted the discussion.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Genta I would never pictured you as one to bully children." said the voice. It belonged to an old man.

"Who…! Homura! Koharu!" Genta looked troubled, but hid it under a smile. "What a pleasant surprise. I hope your trip to the water country has been fruitful."

"Hardly." snapped Koharu. "We were in the middle of negotiations when we heard some troubling news: imaging our consternation when we learned that someone was trying to tamper with the Jinchuuriki."

"Ha! What a foolish idea." said the nervous president.

"Foolish indeed." approved Homura. "Because the seal on the current Nine tails host has been made by the Fourth himself, and his knowledge of seals died with him. In other words; we'll never have a more controlled Jinchuuriki." But the two of them were far from over and Homura continued his rant. "And what's this I hear about giving chuunin promotions and handing out S-rank missions when your focus should be on finding a replacement for the Hokage?"

Genta flinched. Koharu took over. "These tasks are not part of your function. Those are Hokage privileges; you would do well to remember that."

Shikamaru took this opportunity to venture into the discussion. "Does that mean These decisions will be reversed?" he asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, child, there is nothing I can do about that." sighed Koharu "Things might become… complicated if we were to reverse the council's decision."

Shikamaru gave his partner an expressive look. These two had the power to overturn a decision of _the council_… In the chuunin's mind the Hokage was the only one with that kind of political power.

"Now run along, children." said the old woman in an almost motherly tone, "We have adult matters to discuss." she finished, sending a stare that made Genta swallow imperceptibly.

Naruto and Shikamaru were more than happy to leave. Both walked the rest of the way t outside in silence. They had a lot to say, but since every wall probably had ears here, that wasn't a wise idea. Besides, Naruto and Shikamaru had things to think about. A lot of things. Still as they neared the exit, Naruto spoke to his teammate.

"Shikamaru, thanks. For everything."

"No problem." He said with a genuine smile "Now let's get out of here before the others…" he stopped to look at all the faces currently looking at them as he had opened the door. "find us." he sighed as he closed his eyes. He really had the worst luck. In retrospect, he should have figured that Hinata would have spilled the beans sooner or later, but from that to assembling nearly all of the rookies and Team Gai… he felt so tired and annoyed he didn't even send her a look of blame..

"Hey Choji." He said tiredly

"Hi." said the plump shinobi with his usual smile.

Shikamaru turned to his partner. "Well, Naruto, let's go."

The blonde looked at him dubiously but followed his lead under the still stunned faces of the other kids. They had actually started to move away from the small crowd when Ino elbowed her teammate in the head.

"Like hell you are leaving like that, you dumbass!" she yelled.

"What the hell!" snapped the chuunin as he rubbed the back of his head. "That hurt Ino!"

"Do you have any idea how worried we were! We actually thought you were dead!" she looked worried, close to tears.

"And you're trying to fix that by killing me? Brilliant!"

That comment killed the mood, which earned him another blow to the head. This served to lighten the mood tremendously. Both the boys and the rest of the genin worried things would have become awkward since the truth about Naruto had been revealed.

"So what were you guys up to anyway?" asked Tenten

"We caught an S-rank criminal!" gloated Naruto.

The rest of the genin watched in disbelief while Shikamaru was barely able to hide a smile. Hiding the truth by simply telling it? That was the kind of thing he'd think off.

"Is that true?" asked Kiba.

"Is that even possible?" gasped Ino.

"Sure it is;" answered Shikamaru, "if you consider walking to Konoha with a missing nin without even realizing he was a criminal as a "caught".

"Shikamaru! You didn't have to tell them that!" he said, visibly annoyed.

At this, most of the genin relaxed. Hinata and Choji, who knew better, smiled.

"I did, or else they might actually believe you." he said, continuing with the act. "Besides that, nothing much happened." he let out lazily.

"Yeah we just took out some bandits." said Naruto, resigned.

"And it took that long?" Ask Shino, with a raised eyebrow.

"His fault." answered the chuunin, pointing at the blonde.

"Hey! You're the one who let their boss go away!" he retorted

"And you're the one who actually wanted to go after him!" he argued back.

Their bickering was interrupted by the appearance of a familiar face.

"Well what do you know, it's Shikamaru." Said Asuma, obviously relieved to see his pupil alive and well.

"Oh! Hey Asuma."

"I heard you just came back. I guess congratulations are in order then." He said with a grin.

"For what?" Shikamaru sent him a look that clearly meant "Shut up!", but Asuma ignored it.

"For your first successful mission has a chuunin, of course." he complimented with a pat on the shoulder.

Everyone save Choji was shocked by this; the most surprised one was no doubt Naruto.

"Huh! You're a chuunin!" he asked in disbelief.

"Naruto, how come you didn't know?" asked Ino.

"You bastard, you never told me that!" he shouted both humiliated and angry.

"I didn't?" Shikamaru shrugged. "Uh, well, Naruto I'm a chuunin now." He announced plainly.

Naruto nearly face-faulted before going on the offensive again. "It's too late you lazy bastard!"

The chuunin sighed. "Geez, so annoying"!

This seemed to set off Naruto even more. "Who are you calling annoying! You're the one who's an annoying bastard!"

They were still throwing verbal jabs at each other when the rest of team seven made its appearance. Sakura was the first to notice them.

"…Naruto? Is that you?" she asked hesitantly.

The blonde froze. He looked behind him to see the rest of his official team. He hardened his gaze which made an already worried Sakura flinch. Sasuke didn't move.

"You…" Naruto finally said. Anger could be felt in his voice. He stormed off in Sakura's direction. She stepped back, a little scared, but Naruto walked right past her and Sasuke and instead positioned himself right in front of the squad captain.

"Kakashi!" he said.

"Well… hi there Naruto." said the jounin a little apprehensively.

Naruto, to the surprise of many, started to talk about training. "You'd better start teaching me how to do the chidori, and any of your cool ninjutsu while you're at it! How come the bastard's the only one who gets to learn all the cool stuff?"

Most people present were amused by his antics, but Kakashi and Shikamaru frowned. Naruto was deliberately trying to avoid a confrontation with his teammates. This couldn't end well… in the long term at least.

"Naruto…!"

The Kyuubi holder heard the cold voice of Sakura and gulped audibly; he was certain she was mad; he also knew things became painful for him whenever she was mad. "Ah? Sa-Sakura…" he started, but it was muffled by a right straight to the face followed by an overhead punch that knocked him to the ground.

"You idiot!" she shouted as she beat the living daylights out of her friend. "And here I thought I'd start being nicer with you and you just go ahead and ignore me and Sasuke! You didn't change one bit!"

The others cringed and took that as their cue to leave. At first Ino wanted to stay as well, but Asuma prevented her from harassing Naruto and Shikamaru who were evidently tired. She agreed and left, however, she took Choji with her, leaving Shikamaru and team seven at the door to the Hokage tower.

When Sakura finished "welcoming Naruto back to Konoha", she left angrily. Sasuke, now back to his old self, smiled smugly and simply walked past the downed Naruto and, as he left, said "welcome back dobe." As for Kakashi, he sighed.

"I expect a 'real' report of your mission whenever you have the time."

From the way he said that, Shikamaru guessed the jounin had also attended the earlier meeting. After a nod, Kakashi vanished, and only the chuunin remained.

"How are you holding up?" he said, helping his friend to stand up.

"It seems things haven't changed that much since I left." He answered, still a little dazed.

This was both good and bad, but he'd worry about it later: after all now was time to celebrate Team Oblivion's first big success. "Let's go for some ramen! I'm starved!"

"Sure." Shikamaru was glad Naruto was still his same old happy self, but what he had done just then still worried him. He thought his friend needed some company for a while. "How about you come sleep at my place again tonight, Naruto?"

"Sounds like a plan!" said the genin as he dragged his friend to Ichiraku's.

Thankfully, some things did change.

_**And now al**__**most all matters settled, what lies in store for the amazing duo?**_

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**A/N: ****And with this the ark his finally over! Thanks for sticking with this fic so far. I'll leave you with the title for the next ark: Peacemakers.**

**I want to answers reviews and make mentions but I currently don't have the time to skim through them. It'll have to wait until next chapter but I'll go with just one:**

**Paosheep****: faithful reader and reviewer. I hope you enjoy this fic from beginning to end.**

**And with that, till the next chapter!**


	23. Change

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**23****. Peacemakers: Change**

_**It's the start of a new exciting ark! What's going to happen now?**_

Things had finally gotten back to normal in the Hidden Leaf Village. The two months needed to recover from Orochimaru's attack had been grueling, but the village was back on its feet again. Clients were abundant, which guaranteed the village's income, and the shinobi's work load was lessened, giving pretty much everybody some breathing room. Of course, the new Hokage hadn't been selected yet, as they were still looking for Jiraiya, but that really was the only thing left.

Our two heroes were pleasantly surprised when they received a three-day vacation. This was just what they needed to recuperate from their own trials. Of course Shikamaru's mother was unhappy that her son could slack off at home with a legitimate reason, but besides that things went smoothly for him.

As for Naruto, he was painfully reminded what "normal" meant for him. He decided against his own hyperactive nature to stay at home the whole three days.

It was an enlightening experience.

Of his own team, only Kakashi had visited regularly. Sakura had come once, in order to make sure he was coming back to the team. Sasuke hadn't bothered. On the other hand, Iruka had been bothering him since he got back to his apartment. Shikamaru, who had stated he'd be sleeping through the whole three days, had come by his house daily, and to his bigger surprise, so did Choji. He had never known Choji to be such an amiable person, but then again he hadn't known Choji at all. No wonder Shikamaru considered him his best friend.

By the end of the third day Naruto had thought through the two months spent with Shikamaru and had come to a conclusion: He had to become much stronger, much faster; and he needed the chuunin's help in order to achieve that. With that thought in mind, he went to visit his new ex-teammate.

Yoshino greeted the boy with a warm smile. Naruto felt a pinch in his heart; every time he saw her, he thought about his absent mother. He hoped she was like Shikamaru's – maybe a bit less scary, though. Chasing his musings away, he asked for his friend. Shikamaru's mother told him her son was resting in the deer grounds and pointed him in the right direction. When he got there, he saw the young Nara cloud watching, true to his self.

Naruto raised his hand in greeting. "Hey Shikamaru."

The chuunin looked at his friend and sat up. "Hey. It's good a thing you came;" he said, "I wanted to tell you something."

The blonde blinked, and then shrugged. "Okay. So what did you want to tell me?"

The young Nara smiled; he knew he'd get a reaction out of Naruto. "Well I thought you'd want to know what happened that day between Genta and me." He answered casually.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Are you kidding me! I was there, you know!"

"Yeah, but Genta's a politician: they have a language of their own that weirdly sounds like the normal one." explained the chuunin

"Really? So how come you understood?" he asked, still suspicious.

It was now Shikamaru's turn to shrug. "I don't think you realized, but my dad is part of the council."

"Oh, makes sense I guess. So what were you _really_ saying?" he asked

Shikamaru crossed his arms and tilted his head as he tried to recall the exact words they had used and their hidden meanings. "Well it sounded a little bit like this:

**Genta: **_**Work for me.  
**_**Shikamaru: **_**Why? Is this some kind of trap?  
**_**Genta: **_**No, It just that I know pretty much everything: You guys are quite something.**_**  
Shikamaru: **_** So you really are the one behind Fusashi's little stunt.  
**_**Genta: **_** Don't push your luck. Anyway, I don't want you as an enemy.**_**  
Shikamaru: **_** Why? What's your goal?  
**_**Genta: **_**I want power. But I need brains more than brawn; that's where you come in.  
**_**Shikamaru: **_**What about Naruto?  
**_**Genta: **_**Don't get too attached to him; I need him for… different reasons.  
**_**Shikamaru: **_**No!**_**  
Genta: **_**You'd refuse!  
**_**Shikamaru: **_**I think I just did. **_

Naruto was floored. "Well that sounded way cooler than what I heard," he admitted

The chuunin shrugged. "You know, if you want to become Hokage you'll want to learn how to speak 'politician'."

That sounded like a useless chore, which annoyed the Nine Tails host. "Can't I just have a translator?"

"Nope, sorry." Shikamaru grinned.

A pleasant silence ensued. Shikamaru looked at the clouds again while Naruto looked at the fields. Recently the blonde couldn't help but wonder how different his life would have been if he had landed in Shikamaru's team instead of his current one. No doubt, they wouldn't treat each other as Sasuke and he did.

Naruto frowned as his gaze landed on his friend. He had always pictured Shikamaru as a good for nothing bum of a ninja, and his opinion hadn't changed much – except for the good for nothing part; So, naturally, he wondered why the kid beside him had stuck with him this far. Did he have another motive for coming to his aid? He was afraid to find out.

Maybe the genin was a little on the slow side, but he was far from stupid: he had quickly understood that Genta's sudden interest had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the Kyuubi. It certainly didn't help that his suspicions were confirmed when Homura and Koharu interfered. In fact, the fact that they tried to prevent Genta's actions for similar reasons to the politician's was ironic in itself. He didn't even care if Shikamaru was using him as long as it was about him and not the stupid fox.

Naruto wore a determined expression: time to have a clear answer. "Shikamaru, why are helping me?"

The boy sat up again to look at his friend quizzically, but when he noticed the serious expression on his face, he sighed. He closed his eyes, and after a moment started letting out every reason he could think of.

"Because you're my friend;" he started, "because you're a shinobi of Konoha; because you're a good guy, although you're an idiot; because you're interesting; because I hate when people look out only for appearances; because you needed help and you still do; and because the enemy of my enemy his friend."

Naruto was startled for a moment: "…Which one of them is the real one?" he finally asked.

"All of them; pick one you like; pick them all: doesn't really matter to me." He answered as he shrugged.

"That's a lot of reasons." Naruto remarked, still unsure of what his reaction should be.

"Well yeah;" joked the chuunin, "I'm too lazy to act on only one motive."

That last statement finally got a smile out of Naruto. "Thanks." He said.

That question brought another subject to the table. Shikamaru had wondered why someone who went through so much at the hands of the village would want to become its leader. Revenge was his first guess, but he needed to be sure. Depending on his answer, he might have to dissuade his friend from such an agenda. Though he understood those reasons, Shikamaru was still a Konoha shinobi at the end of the day. Fortunately, Naruto's answer was different from what he expected.

"Well, at first I wanted to be someone important so the whole village would acknowledge me." He started.

"That's a stupid reason." Shikamaru said a bit disappointed.

"I know." The genin said, and then continued. "Things changed when I became a shinobi and I went through my first real mission. By the time the Third died, I realized something; I don't like the shinobi world. It dark, it's oppressive, it hurts so many people. I decided to become an Hokage for a whole new reason: to protect the village from this shinobi world, and to change it."

Naruto hesitated a bit before he finished. "I… don't know how I'll do it: I'll probably need time and help, but someone has to do something, and I want to be that someone. That's my ninja way."

Shikamaru closed his eyes approvingly; that was a great answer. It seemed Naruto was aiming at the honorable seat for the right reasons. He also shared his views on the matters concerning Konoha: another plus. After witnessing the world of the higher ups first hand, the chuunin clearly understood he would never be able to work willingly for those creeps. Nothing good would come out from such a group who held so much power. As Naruto stated, things needed change, change someone couldn't bring with the Hokage title alone.

There was yet another silence, heavier than the previous one. The two boys were both absorbed in their own thoughts, wondering what the future had in store for them and how to change it. Finally, Shikamaru spoke up.

"So… what are you going to do now?"

Naruto faced his friend with a nervous expression, suddenly remembering the reason for his visit. "Actually that's why I came here in the first place." He took a deep breath and looked the chuunin in the eye "Shikamaru, I need to become stronger." He paused. "And I don't think I can do it without your help."

The young Nara's expression didn't change as he simply said "Go on."

Naruto took another breath. "Look I know you're thinking that you're not qualified or something like that… thing is, I learned more in the two months I spent with you than since I entered the Konoha Academy. I'm not saying Kakashi's not good enough, but… let's just say I need something on the side." The genin then pointed his finger in Shikamaru's direction. "Listen, I know what I want, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Silence. Neither of the two parties moved an inch as Naruto's confidence faded away.

"Come on! Give me something already. The tension's killing me, you know!"

Shikamaru used all of his self-control not to laugh. "I kind of figured you'd ask."

"Does that mean—?"

However, the chuunin raised his hand in order to shut him up. "First, you'll have to study your ass off; you may be an idiot, but I refuse to help an ignorant idiot." He disregarded Naruto's indignant snort and continued. "Second, you'll be doing most of your training on your own; I'll only be helping. Third, you'll have to find yourself a new sparring partner because I refuse to even lift my little finger against you."

"Deal!" beamed Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed. "Come see me tomorrow: we'll start working on something. In the mean time," he took out a worn booklet, "start catching up."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Sakura was feeling apprehensive: today Naruto was finally coming back to Team Seven. This was a critical moment for them. Sure, the blonde had reacted like his usual self upon his return – maybe a bit _too much_ like himself – but things could still go haywire if he wasn't received properly. The first contact hadn't been successful and she blamed herself for that. By nature, she reacted harshly to Naruto's antics and that time was no different, but at least she had realized she was wrong. Today she'd definitely try to control herself.

She looked around. Sasuke was being true to himself: midway between sulking and posing. A glance in his direction told her he was particularly dreamy today… and that she couldn't count on him to make Naruto feel welcome – not that she expected otherwise; Kakashi would be late – nothing new there either – so he was out as well; which left Haruno Sakura as the sole member of Team Seven up to this delicate task. It couldn't that hard, could it? Naruto could get along with practically anyone. Besides, he had always been friendly to her; she could use that to her advantage.

… Whenever he decided to show up: he was late.

The pink haired girl began to worry: could it be possible that Naruto had had a change of heart? Could he have been attacked on his way here? She was imagining the worst when she heard a small noise above her. She looked up to see none other than the blonde genin sitting comfortably on a tree branch, reading a small book. Sasuke, who also looked up when he heard the noise, was as confused as his partner.

"Naruto?" asked Sakura carefully.

Naruto stopped his reading and beamed at his teammates. "Hey guys!"

"…Hi." She finally answered, at a loss for words.

Sensing the small chat had come to an end, Naruto returned to his reading, to the greater surprise of his teammates.

Sakura climbed the tree and got closer to her comrade. Sasuke refused to budge, but followed every movement with his sharingan just in case.

Sakura tried once again to start a conversation. "Naruto."

"Yes, Sakura?" he answered, without looking up from his reading.

"What are you doing?" she blurted.

"Catching up." He said, proudly showing his book.

Upon closer inspection, she could see it was a summarized version of the basics they were supposed to study at the academy. "Do you… understand what you're reading?" she asked.

The genin's shoulders slumped. "No." he admitted.

Sakura sighed relief; Naruto was still Naruto-ish. Still, he wasn't acting like usual: the kunoichi wondered what had happened to him during the time he'd been away. She looked at her partner again; he was back to his book. This attitude was getting weirdly frustrating. "So?" she finally asked.

"So…?" repeated Naruto mechanically.

"Aren't you going to tell us!" she egged on.

"Tell you what?" he asked, confused.

Sakura slapped her forehead. "Idiot! About what happened to you, of course! What else would you want to talk about?"

Naruto tensed, to the surprise of Sakura. "_You_ want _me_ to talk about _my mission_?" he slowly asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Sakura was ready to beat the answer out of him, but decided to calm down. Why Naruto acted like that was confusing; what had she done to receive such cold behavior? Then she remembered why he had left in the first place and guilt quickly conquered what anger she had left. After everything she had done and said to him why wouldn't he act with reserve? And to make things worse, Sakura just realized it had been the first time she had ever asked the blonde about himself: no Sasuke or insults, just genuine concern. As remorse drilled through her heart, she wondered if she could endure what Naruto had to and still smile the way he always did. She didn't like the answer.

Fortunately, there was still time to fix what was done.

"Yeah, I'd like that." She answered warmly.

Naruto froze. He put the book down and looked at his teammate dubiously. Sakura wanted to hear about him? She was definitely smiling at him anyway. She even looked a bit guilty. Maybe there was hope for a better Team Seven after all.

"Sure." He finally said, smiling.

Naruto had reached the part about the first encounter with the bandits when Kakashi finally decided to show up.

"I'm glad to see the team's back together again." He said.

"And I'm glad to see you still don't give a damn about wasting our time Kakashi." Naruto, replied, annoyed by his timing.

The jounin's playful eye-smile returned. "Aw, come on. Give me a break here. My mask had torn off so I had to go and buy new one! You won't believe how much—"

"Fine, fine." Naruto said, already tired of his teacher's antics. "Are you going to teach me the chidori?"

Kakashi sighed. "Well… you see—"

"He can't dobe." finished the Uchiha.

"And why's that?" snapped the blonde.

"Because you need talent to learn it." he answered smugly.

"You mean lightning elemental affinity? Well you learned it and you already knew fire… so what makes you think I can't learn it too?" he asked defiantly. His boldness quickly turned to confusion when the rest of his team looked at him as if he had said something unbelievable. "…What?" he finally asked, "Did I say something stupid again?"

"Naruto? Who did you learn that from?" asked Kakashi, voicing the concern of the two other genin.

"From Shikamaru; I learned a bunch of stuff while capturing thieves." Naruto went back to the offensive. "Can you teach it to me now, huh?"

"How about we focus on our daily training first?" suggested Kakashi. It seemed an educated Naruto was more troublesome to deal with.

The jounin wanted to start things slowly so he opted for some pursuit and capture exercises. Naruto rubbed his hands together: this would be a great time to show off what he had learned. At first he wanted to use his chakra enhanced limbs in order to surprise his team, but the last two months had taught him he should always rely on his clones when trying something new, so he waited until the copy ninja gave the signal and his teammates moved out before making a clone and testing this new possibility.

The Naruto copy gathered chakra to his legs and tried to jump, but the tremendous force he used was too much to control and he crashed into a nearby tree with a loud cracking sound. Naruto decided to quickly rejoin his teammates. When he caught up with them, Sakura came next to him.

"Naruto, are you okay?" she asked worriedly, "What happened?"

"Nothing much, just playing with an explosive tag." He answered sheepishly.

The kunoichi rolled her eyes and moved away, but Sasuke kept an eye on him. While the Kyuubi vessel was busy wondering what the causes of his failed experiment were, the Uchiha survivor was trying to get rid of the horrible feeling that the dobe was hiding just how far he had progressed. His fears became more tangible after the pursuit session when Kakashi decided to spar against them.

Sasuke didn't understand why the jounin had been so surprised when Naruto fought him one on one until Sakura pointed it out; he was fighting Kakashi without the use of his clones. Well that wasn't surprising; the shocking part was that Kakashi had to use both hands in order to parry Naruto's new style of attack. The prodigy had trouble understanding how an idiot like Naruto could have come so far in the taijutsu department so fast, but the fact was plainly in sight.

"Well I guess that concludes this training session." said Kakashi after a while. "Glad to see you didn't slack off while you were away Naruto."

Satisfied with the result even though he still couldn't land a clean hit on the jounin, Naruto took out the small book he put in his pocket hoping to finish his homework before meeting with the chuunin. Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't done with him yet.

"Wait!"

"What do you want, Sasuke?" he said, keeping the same pace.

"Fight me." The Uchiha ordered.

The jounin didn't like were things were headed. "Sasuke!" he said, reprovingly.

"No." simply stated the blonde.

The avenger was both amazed and angered by that response. "NO!"

"In case you haven't noticed," said Naruto as he showed his booklet, "I'm busy. And I'm really not in the mood right now; try again some other day."

Sasuke was pretty much poised to rush Naruto, but he knew Kakashi would stop him if that happened. He needed his rival to accept his challenge. He opted for provocation.

"I didn't think all this time spent out of Konoha would turn you into a coward." He said with a smug grin.

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I'm a coward, whatever."

"Are you messing with me, dobe?" he asked, losing his patience.

This was going nowhere. It seemed Sasuke would do anything for a fight. Well, if it was a fight he wanted… "No. I just don't want to hurt you." said Naruto.

"Are you telling me that you're stronger than me?"

Naruto tried not to smile as he nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Naruto…!"

But the blonde ignored him and instead turned to his squad captain. "Kakashi, please don't interfere. But you might want to stick around in case he goes out of control again."

And that was the last straw: Sasuke activated his Sharigan and disappeared. Naruto simply stood there and put his book in a pocket. He knew the Uchiha had a speed he couldn't follow while moving, but he also knew that his speed dropped significantly when attacking. A moment later, Sasuke reappeared, aiming to kick his face. He was fast, but nothing that even came close to Kohaku's level. Fortunately, Naruto had all the practice he needed to counter such a straightforward move. He put chakra in both arms: with the left, he blocked the other boy's attack and made him lose his balance while delivering a solid right at the same time. The blow sent the Uchiha rolling on the ground, apparently unconscious.

"Sasuke!" shrieked Sakura.

Naruto shrugged and prepared to leave, but he stopped when he felt a familiar burst of energy. This, as Shikamaru would put it, would be troublesome.

"Naruto…!"

Without waiting for an answer, the Uchiha, curse seal activated, ran at full speed and punched Naruto as he was making a hand sign… only to watch him poof out of existence as he rolled on the ground. He turned around to find a dozen of Naruto waiting for him. The boy smiled, happy to be finally taken seriously and lunged for the first clone he saw.

The Uchiha expected to plow through the clones with ease; he was wrong. Each copy had enough chakra to defend against several blows before going down, and each time he was down to about three, one of the clones would use the shadow clone technique and the whole process would start all over again. Using jutsu had a more or less similar result, since the clones pretty much dodged anything that wasn't taijutsu

And to aggravate the Uchiha even more, none of the clones had tried to attack him. More than once, Sasuke had made a false move due to anger and expected to be overcome by the clones, but nothing ever came.

"Stop hiding and fight me!" he yelled.

"Why should I?" answered one of the clones, "I don't even have to hurt you to win."

The pain linked to the curse seal was getting worse and Sasuke knew he hadn't much time left, so he decided to risk it all. He made a couple of hand sings and started gathering chakra into his right hand.

"Sasuke! Stop it!" demanded Kakashi.

Things had gone too far: one false move and Sasuke could easily kill his teammate, but the pretentious teenager wouldn't hear a word and transformed all that chakra into lightning. Kakashi was ready to interfere, but as he looked at the clones, a few of them gave him a stern look, as if to say, "don't interfere". The jounin was afraid: things had gotten pretty hectic, but he decided to trust his pupil. After all, Sasuke had yet to find the real Naruto. Kakashi sighed as he revealed his own Sharingan, ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

Chidori!

Sasuke used a combination of speed and power in order to level the field of all the clones in one fell swoop. Knowing the real Naruto would make more clones; he observed his surroundings carefully as he prepared another chidori. Suddenly, he saw some clones dropping from above: he smiled; Naruto had just given away his position. Without a care for his comrade, the avenger lunged at the Naruto still up the trees and pierced his shoulder. The other clones disappeared. Sasuke felt like he was victorious until Naruto simply turned into smoke. Panicked, the raven-haired boy turned around to receive a fist full of chakra to the face, violently sending him down to the ground.

Sasuke tried to get up, but the punch added to the curse seal and chakra exhaustion did a number on his body.

"Argh! Damn, my body…!"

Naruto landed near him; he was pale, a little bruised, and very upset.

"How…?"

"The first one wasn't a clone."

The prodigy looked at his teammate in shock as he towered above him. Naruto spoke.

"Sasuke… what the hell happened to you? Look at how pathetic you've become; even the old Sasuke would be laughing at you now. Since when do you need that stupid curse seal to be strong? Hell, since when did you start relying on physical strength! You used to be a master of weapons, tools and ninjutsu; you used your head. I can't believe I'm even saying this but… you were my goal. I always said to myself 'man that guy is so cool', or 'Damn! I wish I was smart as he is'.

"And when I decide I'd try to be cool like you and become strong by my own means, you pull that kind of crap. I'll tell you one thing. One day we will have a fight, a real one. And I will kick your pretentious ass. And I'll do it without resorting to stupid tricks like summoning a power that isn't even mine."

He turned and started to walk, without a second glance for his defeated teammate. Sakura quickly hurried over to Sasuke. Naruto had an eerie feeling of déjà vu.

"Sasuke, Sasuke? Are you alright?" she asked, trying to comfort her beloved. Seeing he refused to talk, she ran back to Naruto. "Naruto… why? How could you?"

Naruto was surprised to find sadness instead of the anger he had faced before. It didn't change much in the end as he felt the same indignation; how could she even say those things to _him_! He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs "but he just tried to _kill_ me!" but he knew it was childish and would fall on deaf ears.

"You might want to help him Sakura; the wound to his pride is kind of serious." He finally said bitterly.

At first, Sakura raised her hand, ready to slap him, but as she looked in his eyes, the anger she felt quickly dissipated and she started to cry. She quickly rejoined the Uchiha in order to take care of his wounds. To her, nothing was going right for Team Seven.

Kakashi put his sharingan under his forehead protector and came near the blonde. He could see the boy was still shaken by all that had happened. He could understand; he himself couldn't fathom what went through Sasuke's head. _How could I have failed my team this much_, he wondered. Naruto would be okay, but Sasuke looked out to be a lost cause and Sakura as well by the looks of it.

"Naruto… I'm sorry that you had to go through this on your first day with the team." He sighed. "I would understand if you wanted to transfer to another team." This grabbed Naruto's attention. The jounin continued. "If you want, I can arrange to transfer you to Team Ten.

The Nine Tails host couldn't believe his ears; a chance to spend more time with his real friends and dump Team Seven at the same time? No more stupid rivalry? No more insults? Ok, maybe there would still be insults, but no more punching! The prospect of all the good things that would ensue was tempting to Naruto.

It was then he looked at Kakashi. What kind of team would the jounin have if he left? If he went to Shikamaru's team, someone would have to be exchanged. If it was Ino, like his friend had planned, his teacher just might go crazy; he wouldn't wish this kind of team to Choji or Shikamaru, besides, there was no reason to go to Team Ten if they left. No matter how he looked at the solutions, they would just bring more problems.

Naruto took a deep breath and shook his head. "Nah, I'm alright." He looked at it from another angle. "If I want to be the next Hokage, I have to learn to work with people I don't like or people that don't like me. If something like this is enough to make me quit then I have no right to even want to become Hokage."

Kakashi looked at his pupil with satisfaction: he couldn't be prouder of Naruto than at this moment. _You remind me more and more of your father, _he concluded.

The genin yawned: all the fighting and tension was pretty demanding. "I'm tired. I think I need a shot."

"A shot?" asked Kakashi, a bit worried

"…Of friendship." he answered as he left.

Kakashi almost wished Naruto had replied "sake".

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Team Oblivion had decided to meet at Ichiraku's that evening. When Naruto came in sight of the ramen stand, his partner was already waiting for him. One good look at the genin and Shikamaru knew something was wrong.

"Man, and here I thought I had a rough day: you look like hell." said Shikamaru, concern easily noticeable in his voice.

"Sasuke tried to kill me." he answered bluntly.

The chuunin looked at his friend with a blank expression, which turned into pure shock when he realized Naruto wasn't kidding. "Seriously? How?"

"Chidori." He replied. He paused in order to sit and gather his thoughts, and gave a bit more detail about what happened.

Shikamaru left his comment for the end of the narration. "That conceited bastard had it coming."

Uzumaki nodded, but still felt depressed. "I thought Sakura would've done something though; I felt like she had changed. In the end she actually got upset at me for winning."

Shikamaru would have told Naruto what he thought about Sakura, but he knew the blonde had a thing for her, so he said nothing, and tried to give him advice.

"Maybe you should give it some time," he suggested.

The genin thought about it and nodded. "Sakura's changing. She's not the same girl that drove me out of Konoha, that's for sure."

"I hope so." He simply replied. _Because otherwise I might drive __**her**__ out of Konoha!_

"At first, it felt like she didn't like me at all. But today I kind of felt she just liked Sasuke more." Suddenly an idea took shape in his mind. "Hey, do you think—"

But Shikamaru, reading his mind, cut him off. "Not a chance!" No use giving him false hope. "But you might end up being friends." He said to console him.

"I'd like that." He replied thoughtfully. He then noticed they had only been talking about him for a while.

"Hey, what about you?"

"Me? You probably don't want to hear about it."

Once again, Naruto's trouble made the chuunin feel stupid about his own little downs. Still, he told him about his day. It wasn't like anything bad happened, but his father had become so… different all of a sudden.

At first, he was adamant that Shikamaru learn the Shadow Neck Bind technique by the end of the day. Nothing surprising there: it had been the same when he first learned the Shadow Bind technique. Problem with that was he pretty much had to skip training with Asuma. Then his father wanted details on his last mission. Again, normality at its finest, considering this mission had almost cost him his life numerous times.

After that, to stay true to his aggravating self, Shikaku decided to play the omniscient card and found out what "the white chakra" was at first glance; of course, he refused to tell his son what it really was, so Shikamaru had to seek Asuma to find out by himself. 'Turns out that special type of chakra was a simple rearrangement of mental and physical energy. The firebomb technique? A basic B level jutsu – still he gave him props for it. The control of one particular person during the mass Shadow Bind Jutsu? A little trick he himself had come up with during his teens. Nothing seemed to impress him, much to the irritation of the young chuunin. At least the white chakra was something never done before.

Things changed however, when his father learned he had made this discovery thanks to the Absolute control technique. Shikaku had frozen right then. He looked at his son in a way Shikamaru had never seen before and simply left, leaving his son more confused and frustrated with his father than he had ever been.

Still, this was nothing compared to what his friend just went through, so he chased the thought out of his mind and decided to cheer up his friend instead.

"Anyways on to training."

Those magic words had an almost instantaneous effect on the genin.

"Alright! Training, training, training!" Then he stopped when he saw a scroll. "What's this?"

"A list of books you'll have to read, and learn – preferably by heart." said the chuunin.

"What? But there are so many books and—"

"So what? Just use your clones" he replied indifferently

"Why do I even need to learn all that stuff!" whined the blonde, "It's not like I'll be able to understand even half of that in battle."

"Naruto… just do it."

"…Fine." He said, pouting.

"So, you've tried moving with all that chakra? From your story, I gather it didn't end well. Have any ideas about what you're going to do about it?

Naruto smiled: he liked the way Shikamaru trusted him and pushed him to find his own means of training. "Yeah: running and jumping exercises."

"Good. Have fun with that." Both shinobi had finished eating and got up. "Oh! And meet me in the Team Ten training grounds in three days."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Surprise." Replied his friend mysteriously.

Naruto nodded and began to leave.

"Naruto!"

The boy turned around. Shikamaru was looking him with a serious face. "Kakashi, Iruka, Asuma, Neji, Hinata, Choji, my dad and me; we got your back."

The genin smiled. "I know. Thanks."

The young Nara sighed as he watched his friend leave. He had seen through his fake smile: Naruto might know he had friends, but it didn't erase what those he thought were his closest friends had done to him.

_Hang in there Naruto._

_**If Naruto's teammates are giving him so much trouble, what about his enemies?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: In the next chapters, When there's a need to speak, "politician", the translation will be found below in bolded characters.**

**Lots of things to mention here:**** New ark! The fic also officially reached the 100 000 words landmark, and the reviews are above 200 wow! Thanks guys.**

**Mentions:**

**Blazing Demon****: **The first reviewer of this fic. The reason I'm still writing this fic.

**Paosheep****: **Because you keep writing reviews and because you're very encouraging. Always out for the little things I should improve.

**The Laughing Phoenix****:** for agreeing to be my Beta reader and doing a great job at it.

**RogerDering****: **Gave me links to the Shikamaru enthusiast.** Start writing again, Damn it!**

**bleedingwrist: **The first one to use the word awesome in his review.

**adamrpg: **First criticism that got me thinking. Mostly because of the stories you suggested.

**XENO Prototype****:** a fellow role player. **What are you up to now? If you're still role playing invite me or something.**

**evelsaint93:** first review with the use of the word epic.

**TenchiSaWaDa****:** for taking my defense in the reviews. I was surprised, impressed and very grateful.

**Shadow Owner:** Just go take a look at her review.

I think I'll stop there because I keep adding to that list.

**Review & Reply: ****Second Edition**

Rev**: **Your story is well written, better than mine. But one advice, get on with it. You have dilly dallied too far into far reaches and made it all training. need plot twists and action. The hyuuga factor was a nice start but that should have ended 10 chapters ago. Start picking up the pace.

**Rep: **Yeah, about that… I really can't make any promises but next arc does have more action and a bit less training.

Rev**: **It was a great chapter, but you how in the worl did Hinata know to come here? Hiashi was clueless so I'm guessing it's not as simply as byakugan gg..

**Rep: **Well she heard her father mention Kohaku's name and figured something was up… but I didn't mention that, did I? my mistake. I'll take care of it later

Rev**: **PS- I hope that blind man is not Kohaku Hyuuga but rather just a random wandering helper who decided to settle in town.

**Rep: **HA HA HA HA HA… HA. Of course… *cough*

Rev**:** Plot related questions

**Rep:** Yes, you'll see Jiraiya; yes, Naruto will learn the rasengan; no I won't tell you when, I'll just say it's not coming any time soon.

Rev**:** Romance related questions

**Rep:** There will be romance. Here's my stance on this there will be about as much romance in this fic as in the manga… just better handled, I hope.

Rev**:** Shikamaru and Naruto fic is a good idea.

**Rep:** why thank you. Didn't see this pairing (as friends) enough so yeah. They really are awesome together.

Rev**:** Why so few reviews?

**Rep:** Dunno myself, but I'm not complaining. 200 is already a lot.

Well that's about it. Once again, thanks for reading and the reviews people; really appreciate it.


	24. Truce

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that "isn't" Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

This fic has officially been made more awesome by the Beta reading of **The Laughing Phoenix**.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**24****. Peacemakers: Truce**

**_Rough reunion for Team Seven. But things are looking up… sort of._**

The days Naruto spent free of his teammates did him a world of good. He took this opportunity to do a bit of catching up and to train. The first thing he did was to seek out Iruka and invite him for some ramen. That took him a chunk of the first day since the chuunin kept worrying over nothing, but it was good to spend time with him. The next day, he went to visit Rock Lee, and quite begrudgingly, Sasuke as well. Fortunately, the Uchiha was sleeping and Sakura was nowhere to be found when he came, so he left his get well card and fruit basket, took the melon for himself, and quietly left. The rest of his forced vacation he spent solely on training.

Learning to move with all that chakra at his body's disposal wasn't as hard so much as it was time and Chakra consuming. The Kyuubi host wondered if there was a reason he had to go through this: he remembered no such thing when he was powered up by the Fox's chakra during his last few fights. He then realized he never had been in full control when he used the demon's power, maybe movement was one of the things he let the Fox control. Still, since he was already used to moving at that speed, re-learning it took less time. By the third day he was able to move how he wanted and only trained in order to use his chakra efficiently.

Naruto felt particularly drained after the last training session. It was a feeling he really enjoyed at the end of the day. There he was on his back, resting in the Team Seven training grounds. He was currently watching the leaves fall; it was an inspiring scene. He closed his eyes in order to burn the scene into his memory. When he opened them, a pink-haired girl was staring back at him.

The blond jerked a bit, surprised by her sudden appearance. "Whoa! Sakura!"

She looked half amazed, half nervous. "Naruto, since when could you move like that?"

Damn! He wasn't ready to show them this yet. "Oh! You saw that, did you? It's just bit of personal training. I'm still trying to master it though." he lied with his usual smile. He quickly changed topics. "You needed something?"

Her lips formed a smile. "I… I wanted to thank you. Sasuke… Sasuke asked Kakashi to seal that mark of his own free will!" She said happily, not noticing Naruto's frown. "That's all thanks to you." She lowered her head in sadness. "I tried talking him out of it. I knew it was changing him and I was so scared—"

"It's fine Sakura." He said to stop her. "I didn't like the new Sasuke either."

Of course he didn't! The bastard had tried to _kill_ him! He found appalling that Sakura would even consider talking to him so casually about Sasuke after what had happened. Should he just treat that whole thing like a normal spar? Was he the only one who thought something was wrong with Team Seven? She could at least apologize for taking the Uchiha's side against her better judgement – again. In fact, she never did apologize for the things she had said the night of his fateful escape. Naruto became quite upset as he realized that he preferred the angry Sakura. At least then he knew where she stood.

These thoughts quickly caused the kunoichi's presence to become unbearable: he decided to leave before he did something he'd regret. Sakura stopped him.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah." Naruto answered. He needed an excuse, fast. Fortunately he found one that was partly true. "I'm getting hungry." he said.

"Sasuke's going to be out of the hospital soon:" she then looked at him, hopeful "I was thinking we could go and see him… and maybe head for ramen later."

Naruto really wondered if Sakura thought he could be bought with ramen. In any case he knew neither he nor his teammates were ready for this. "Sorry; I don't think Sasuke wants to see me right now." He answered.

Disappointment could be read on her face. "Oh, Ok. See you tomorrow then."

The boy simply waved. He was torn between the need to simply run from her and the urge to punch something – hard.

For someone as clueless as Sakura, she still managed to sense that something was wrong with her friend. "Naruto?" the boy turned around with his usual smile, waiting for her. She hesitated: maybe she was over thinking things. In the end she let it go. "Hum… no it's nothing."

Still, the blonde left in quite a hurry. This worried the pink-haired girl.

_Naruto..__._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto felt a bit better after leaving the training grounds. He remembered Shikamaru had a surprise for him and decided to go there first. He found the young man waiting for him.

"So why did you—?" he stopped when he noticed they weren't alone. "Oh, hello Asuma."

The jounin waved to him casually. "Shikamaru told me a bit about your training." He explained.

"Are you going to be my sparring partner?" he asked, a bit nervous.

"Me!" Asuma chuckled. "No sorry. I might a bit too much for you. I'm just here to give you a present."

The man took out two kunai out of his vest. Needless to say, Naruto was far from impressed.

The jounin smiled, "Seems a demonstration is in order."

He first picked a normal kunai and threw it against a tree; the kunai lodged itself solidly in the trunk. Then he tried imbuing another normal kunai with his chakra: the result was marginally better. After that he powered one of the special kunai with his chakra and managed to pierce the tree entirely.

The genin was impressed, but the little show was far from over. "And now for the cool part; watch what happens with wind type chakra."

The kunai cut through the first kunai Asuma threw, the tree, and finished its course in a boulder. Needless to say the two young boys were left fairly impressed.

"And I was holding back," he gloated.

Naruto was drooling. "How many of them do I get, again?" he asked, already thinking of the potential of such weapons.

"Two."

The blonde wanted to argue, but decided against it.

"Those things are a bit rare – and pricey." explained the jounin. "Anyways you get these as a gift. Take care of those; they were the first kunai I ever used as a Chuunin."

Naruto picked up the blades religiously. "Thanks Asuma. Thanks Shikamaru."

"No problem." replied the chuunin. "As long as I don't have to pay for it."

"If you want, I can show you a wind jutsu you can use on regular stars and kunai to make them deadlier."

"Cool!" Naruto began, but his stomach protested vehemently. He laughed sheepishly. "Maybe later; wanna go for some ramen?"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Genta was doing some paper work in his office when a man came in. He looked at the face of his guest before returning to his work.

"What do you want?" he asked coolly.

The stranger ignored him. "It seems things are progressing slowly."

"Of course they are;" Genta replied calmly. "Koharu and Homura are getting nosy. I can only do so much without arousing suspicion."

"Then you should work harder;" sanctioned the newcomer, "things would have already been dealt with if I worked alone."

This time, Genta lifted his eyes to look at his interlocutor "Are you telling me you're ending our deal?" his tone had a slight touch of irony.

The other man coughed. "I'm no fool Genta: I'm only… comparing our working methods." He said, smiling.

"I need more time that's all." He said going back to his books.

"Fine; don't disappoint me."

The man left. Genta sighed. Things weren't going so well; the geezers had come back too soon. Now, if he wanted to get a hold of Naruto, he had to do so while the boy was out of Konoha. He wasn't worried; he was sure such an opportunity would happen before the next Hokage came around. Maybe then he could get rid of that dangerous partner of his.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

After all the excitement, it was back to the plain old routine for the rookies… with some notable differences. Ino stopped acting like she was in charge of Team Ten – or rather she became more humble. Before, Shikamaru had to tactfully insert his plans into the kunoichi's stratagems or wait for them to self-destruct. Now, though Ino still acted like the boss, she was constantly looking for his approval. This made things work quicker, but Shikamaru still didn't quite know what to think of it. She talked less and listened more… that wasn't normal. Sometimes, she would even stay quiet and look at him and Choji while they were resting; it freaked him out. Thankfully, Choji had an answer for this new behaviour.

"I think she's starting to realize we're more than teammates to her."

Whatever that meant, he hoped it would imply less violence.

Outside of missions, his time was split between avoiding Neji, his own personal training, and his father.

As soon as it was possible, Neji had come in contact with the chuunin in order to get some "clarification": he hadn't bought Shikamaru's little act and wanted to know the full story in its most insignificant details. After that he had pretty much left the young Nara alone. However, every time the Hyuuga genius had the time, he would go out of his way to greet him. Shikamaru knew that underneath all that good will and gratitude, the Hyuuga was a bit irked that he missed out on all that action and wanted to make sure he wouldn't be left out. That wouldn't have bothered him so much if Tenten stopped glaring at him every time that happened. For those reasons he found it wise to avoid the Hyuuga, not that it amounted to much.

As for his father, his behaviour hadn't changed; it still worried him. One day he simply came to him and said.

"Shikamaru, today you'll be learning the Shadow Sewing and Shadow Gathering techniques."

"Huh? Why now?"

"Because I said, 'Shikamaru, today you'll be learning the Shadow Sewing and Shadow Gathering techniques.'"

The boy groaned, but started on those jutsu immediately.

Another time, Shikaku came out of the blue and brought up his discovery. The chuunin knew there was a rearrangement of the mental and physical energy forming the chakra, but he didn't know what exactly did that change on a practical level.

"Did you know chakra was molded with one part of mental for four parts of physical energy?"

Shikamaru blinked. "Where did you learn that?"

"Read it somewhere." Shikaku answered dismissively. "Now the interesting part is that 'white chakra' of yours reverses the ratio…" he seemed to hesitate. "Or at least that's what it looks like."

"So?" said the young Nara, not impressed.

His father smiled. "Here's another bit of info: though all jutsu rely on chakra, some rely more on one type of energy than the other."

While all these new jutsu and info were a great thing to have, the attention had Shikamaru worried. Shikaku had never pushed his son to learn jutsu and he rarely talked about training. At first the boy thought his father was worried about Genta and wanted to give him the tools to protect himself. But he felt like that was only part of the answer. That annoyed him more than anything.

_What the hell are you hiding, dad__? _

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

As for Naruto, things reached a certain status quo. When Sasuke came back to Team Seven the first thing he did was to challenge Naruto to a rematch. This one, to the surprise of the whole team, ended in a draw. Naruto had decided not to use his new movement technique, but he felt in the end it wouldn't have helped much. It was hard to believe, but he had barely caught up to the Sasuke of old. Naruto had the advantage in the taijutsu department, due to his newfound raw power, but the Uchiha more than made up for it when he actually used his vast arsenal of weapons and ninjutsu. In the end Kakashi had to stop the fight because neither opponent was yielding nor had a distinct advantage.

Fortunately this was enough for Sasuke to realize his friend was right; he was better off without the curse seal, and it took a couple of days for him to return to his old, smug self. Of course Sakura was thrilled, but Naruto couldn't care less: he still remembered what they had done to him and the fact they had not once attempted to apologize, let alone even try to talk about it, rankled. Still, this was infinitely better than psycho Sasuke, and Sakura did make an effort to pay attention to him every now and then. He decided that it was good enough; he already had friends anyway. Maybe one day even he might be able to forget about that day and become friends again. Heck, he even considered Sasuke as his new sparring partner.

It only took a couple of missions for the thought to perish along all his optimism.

It must have slipped out of his mind, but he quickly realized that while he and Sasuke were pretty strong, they really sucked as a team: Sasuke always wanted to do things solo; Sakura always wanted to do things with Sasuke and poor Naruto had to juggle between the two. Most of the time, he had to protect the pink haired kunoichi; on rare occasion he had to lend a hand to the Uchiha. Unfortunately, Sasuke hated to be helped and always got angry at him for doing so. It was a daunting task, even with his clones.

But that was only half the trial; Sasuke was also a competition freak: whether it be training or mission, he had to be the best, and he needed to look good being so. This was the real reason preventing any sort of teamwork; Naruto couldn't even suggest a team up attack without receiving a glare. Worse, he couldn't even ignore those egotistical tendencies since Sasuke was hard to avoid when he didn't get his dose of attention, so Naruto had to act like his old self; he played the jealous wannabe and engaged in stupid battles he had to lose most of the time for the sake of the greater good.

Kakashi disagreed with Naruto's methods. "This can't be good for you." He had once told him when they had a moment alone. He was right; Naruto's act might have fooled his other teammates during training and missions, but it negatively influenced his real mood; when not in their company, he became moody and quick to anger, and was depressed more often than not. He wanted to run away from Team Seven any chance he had.

Unfortunately, it tended to be at those times that Sakura remembered he existed and invited him to tag along for diner or other activities. In some way those little gatherings were worse than the missions. At least on the missions he had Kakashi along and could simply stay away when things became unbearable. Instead he had to basically watch Sasuke reject the advances of his crush time and time again, while at the same time pretend he was interested in whatever Sasuke wanted to tell him. Sometimes, Sakura would inquire about him, but even then she only superficially listened. If Kakashi could easily see through his mood, he was sure his teammates could have, but they didn't – or wouldn't. The blonde didn't know which was worse yet.

This kind of environment was killing Naruto little by little. The fact that he rarely saw his real friends didn't help either. Then one day, after a particularly trying mission, the blonde heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Naruto."

"Choji! Shikamaru!" Naruto beamed, his fake smile replaced by a genuine expression. "Coming back from a mission?"

The chuunin observed his friend carefully as he casually answered. "Yeah: an escort mission; such a pain."

"Maybe it wouldn't be so annoying if you were a half-decent shinobi." said Sasuke, refusing to be ignored.

"Sasuke!" squealed Ino as she shoved past her teammates to get closer to him. "How are you doing? Did you miss me?"

"Hands off Ino-pig! He's mine!" barked Sakura

"In your dreams forehead girl!"

And just like that, another argument for the title of "most annoying delusional fangirl" took place. Shikamaru used the distraction to drag Naruto away from Team Seven.

"Want to go for some ramen?" he asked.

"Do I ever!"

So the three left Sasuke with his girl troubles and went to Ichiraku's. After that, Naruto was invited to Shikamaru's cloud watching spot.

"So what are we going to do now?" he asked full of energy.

"Nothing." he said. Seeing the blonde scandalized expression he added "Trust me it'll do you good."

Naruto decided not to complain and did as told. At first it was unnerving, but in the end his friend was right; it did help. Meanwhile, Choji looked at Naruto and frowned. He gave a meaningful glance to Shikamaru who nodded; he had noticed as well.

"Naruto."

The blonde looked a bit dazed, like he had been sleeping. "Yeah?"

"Why are you smiling?"

Naruto only blinked at him, totally confused.

"Look, I don't know about Team Seven, but Choji is pretty good at reading people, and I've been with you long enough to at least differentiate between a real and a fake smile: you don't have to smile if you don't want to."

The Nine Tails' host suddenly looked more tired that he had let on. His genuine smile returned. "Heh, I'll keep that in mind." He conceded.

Choji and Shikamaru exchanged another look.

"Is it that bad over there?" asked the plump boy .

Naruto nodded.

Shikamaru was a bit surprised. "Why don't you ask Kakashi to switch to our team?"

"Actually, he offered to do that a while ago."

"And you refused!" exclaimed Choji "Why?"

"Well if I moved there, Ino would have to go to team Seven." He reasoned.

"So?" argued the chuunin, "That's what she always wanted."

"Yeah, but what about Kakashi?"

"Come on; it's not like those girls are that bad." said Choji.

The three of them couldn't hold in their laughter for more than ten seconds.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Meanwhile, in Genta's office…

"Are you sure about this info?" asked the head of the Konoha council.

"Yes," answered a cloaked shinobi, "but they probably won't mention this because of the risks."

"Of course." said the man as he scratched his chin pensively. "Still, we can use this."

"What are your orders, sir?" asked the ninja.

"Keep an eye on them. Let's wait and see if they really intend to keep this information. In the mean time, gather some proof."

"As you wish."

The man relaxed as his underling vanished in a puff of smoke. If what he had said was true, he had finally found some leverage against the elders. Time to finally get his hands on the Kyuubi.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Shikamaru was currently accompanying Naruto home from ramen at Ichiraku's. It had been a few days since he had last seen him. As they walked home he thought about the blond's progress. Naruto was starting to remember what he learned and could even explain some of the more simple concepts – in his own simple way. But their busy schedules made things very hard.

They had almost arrived when he noticed they were followed. The fact that he had noticed told him whoever was trailing them wasn't a pro, which piqued his interest. He let Naruto go home while he took some detours in order to surprise their amateur spy. He was practically behind their follower when she turned around and bumped into him.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" asked the chuunin a bit surprised.

Terror could be seen on the kunoichi's white face. "S-Shikamaru?" she asked, finally recognizing him, before babbling the clichéd "Th-this isn't what it looks like."

Shikamaru said nothing and waited. He always liked to see people making fools out of themselves. Hinata spent a good minute trying to come up with a plausible explanation for her presence; none seemed credible.

"This is exactly what it looks like." she admitted, head hung low. "Please don't tell Naruto."

There was another pause, to give the chuunin the time to come up with a great idea. "Fine." he finally said, "On one condition: meet me here tomorrow after training."

"And what happens if I don't show up?" she asked, apprehensive

The chuunin simply smiled, and somehow that scared Hinata far more than any threat he could have made.

"I'll be there." She said meekly.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

There was an extra topic at the council meeting that day, to everyone's surprise . No one had any idea of the reason for such a rare occurrence. Genta enjoyed the uncertain atmosphere settling in the room. He smiled: _let's start things with a bang!_ He thought.

"Koharu, Homura, the council has heard very troubling news: it seems you're concealing an important missive from the Sand Village."

By the council he meant himself of course, since no one else knew about it. The Third's old teammates exchanged a glance, and after a pause, Homura spoke.

"We are not concealing anything. This scroll from the Sand is simply void now considering the recent developments."

The leader of the meeting snickered. "Ah, but the problem is that this scroll was sent _after_ the invasion."

There was a murmur within the members of the council. Of course Homura and Kohaku could risk refusing them the scroll, but their political standing would suffer tremendously. Begrudgingly, the old kunoichi exited the room and came back with a scroll in hand. The missive quickly reached Genta who silently skimmed through.

"It appears they are offering us a truce and would like us to engage in negotiations on that matter."

"Yes, but you'll conclude as I did their demands are ridiculous." Argued, Homura

"I can see that." said the politician nonchalantly. "All the more a reason to indulge them, is it not?"

Koharu vehemently disagreed. "Are you a fool, Genta? You'd risk losing one of our most powerful assets! Not to mention promising recruits."

The council president coughed. The two elders must have had been caught off guard for them to make things this easy. "First," he retorted "the Kyuubi host is currently far, far from being our most powerful asset. Second, if you think this is as dangerous as you say, why not send them with an ANBU?

"You realize this is an opportunity we can't miss. The Sand is still in the midst of recovery and they want an alliance, a real one. The advantage we could gain from this is overwhelming. And if the Sand is up to no good, it is the perfect excuse for an invasion of our own. The loss would be minimal compared to the gain, don't you think?"

Homura was outraged. "You really are a fool Genta! I will never—"

"Oh, but you seem to forget this is the council's decision. Now let us vote on the proposition." said Genta, hammering the final nail in the coffin.

Of course the vote went in the politician's favor. Hiding the missive had obviously put the two old partners in a less than enviable position, even without Genta's influence on the council. Besides, many thought an alliance with the Sand was a good idea, while others found it a perfect opportunity for a counter-attack. Needless to say, the two veterans were quite unhappy with that outcome. They waited for Genta at his own office.

"Do you really think you will go far by turning against us Genta?" asked Homura menacingly.

"Oh! Far from me be it to turn against you Homura. I'm just doing what's best for Konoha." He smiled. He had them right where he wanted them. "After all, I'm just doing what the head of the council is supposed to do."

Homura and Koharu realized he was referring to their interference in his own affairs; he was dealing out payback.

"You'll regret this." Homura mumbled, bitter, and the two left.

A moment later, the same shinobi who had informed Genta of the scroll appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Good," said Genta, "punctual as usual."

"Shall I round up the members of my team for this mission, sir?" asked the masked figure.

The politician shook his head. "No need for that; I'll handpick those members myself."

"And will I be the leader of this team?" asked the shinobi, visibly shaken by the news.

"I'll be using a member of the ANBU." Answered Genta

This announcement surprised his listener even more. "An ANBU? But I don't think—"

"Oh, don't worry; I think the person I have in mind will be quite happy to take part in this mission." He said with an evil smirk.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The next day, Hinata waited at the same spot for her blackmailer. She had no idea what his plans were, but she knew he wasn't a bad person. Then again, he seemed to dislike women in general. She shook her head: whatever he had in store, he couldn't be worse than telling Naruto, could it?

"Hinata?"

Her heart skipped a beat; the voice she heard definitely wasn't Shikamaru's. It couldn't be… it just couldn't.

"N-Naruto!"

What was he doing here? And it had Shikamaru's brilliant idea to meet him near Naruto's house as well. Now she had to come up with a good lie or–

"Don't tell me... you're the person Shikamaru was talking about?"

_He told him?_ Hinata suddenly felt very sick.

"I… I…"

"Well, let's go." He said, full of spirit.

"What? Where?" asked Hinata, confused.

"To the training field, of course! We can't fight right here, can we?"

The kunoichi's face went from green to white. Naruto hated her so much he wanted to fight her? It was all over; her life, her dreams everything. "D-do we have to?" she pleaded.

The blonde scratched his head "Well, what good is a sparring partner if we don't spar?"

Hinata froze. "I-I'm your s-sparring part-partner?"

The poor girl couldn't believe her luck. An occasion to spend time with Naruto on a regular basis was almost too good to be true. Meanwhile, it was now Naruto's turn to be confused.

"Wait, you're not?" he asked, disappointed.

"I am I am!" she said a bit eagerly. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "I-I'm sorry; Shikamaru hadn't told me all the details. L-lead the way."

Naruto shrugged and happily took Hinata to a deserted training area near the Forest of Death. Without further explanation they both took a fighting stance, and at Naruto's signal, started a bout.

Hinata had grown stronger since her last fight against her cousin. She hadn't quite reached his level yet, but Hinata still had trained rigorously and had reached an attack speed far above that of Naruto's, and could use the Byakugan to its full potential. She still couldn't use this knowledge as well as Neji did, but it was enough to handle Naruto, especially since he wasn't using any of his clones. She had to admit the boy had gotten a lot better at taijutsu, but kept thinking she was underestimated a bit.

It all changed when Naruto decided to take it up a notch. Hinata might hit faster than Naruto, but he definitely moved faster: her eyes could barely keep up. Add to that the ridiculous power behind each of his attacks and the kunoichi quickly understood that sealing his chakra openings was the only way to take him down. She refrained from doing so since it was only a spar.

A while later they were stopped, both panting and smiling. It was a great experience for Naruto; different from fighting Sasuke, Kakashi or even Shikamaru. He never imagined having so much fun during a fight. There was no hidden tension, no urge to win, no pressure, no humiliation; just fighting for the sake of fighting and getting stronger. He was already looking forward to their next session.

The same could be said for Hinata. She was currently at crossroads; trying to find a way to get stronger. And for that, she needed someone against who she could test her strength. Unfortunately, she couldn't count much on the Hyuuga since they had pretty much rejected her, and her father was busy training Neji. Shino and Kiba weren't enough: she needed someone like Naruto to help her refine the more intricate movements of her style.

This was a truly a match made in heaven.

Shikamaru chose this time to come along with Choji. "Hey guys. How's the sparring?"

"It was great." beamed Naruto. "Hinata here is an awesome partner." Then he looked at his new partner. "Seriously Hinata, you're very good."

The kunoichi smiled under her embarrassment. "Th-thanks, Naruto."

Shikamaru was happy with the results. He asked the Hyuuga heiress if she wanted to keep sparring with Naruto at regular intervals. The girl enthusiastically agreed. Then while Naruto was busy with Choji, Hinata got closer to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, thanks." she said softly.

"No problem." replied the chuunin.

"And please," said the girl clutching her heart, "don't ever do that again."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied with a mischievous grin.

Naruto was famished after such healthy exercise. "Call of the stomach!" he shouted. "Anybody up for some ramen?"

Hinata nearly died of happiness. She quelled the incessant squealing in her mind and simply nodded instead.

"It would be my pleasure, Naruto."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

It was a nice afternoon. Team Seven had come back from a C ranked mission and Sakura had suggested they all go out and eat something.

"Ramen, ramen, ramen!" chanted Naruto.

"Jeez Naruto, don't you eat anything else?" whined the kunoichi.

Naruto was a bit upset. He already knew he wouldn't be having a good time: the least they could do was to let him eat what he wanted.

"Well I—" he started, but he was interrupted by a total stranger.

"Mr. Uzumaki? The council would like a word with you if you please."

Sakura and Sasuke looked at the blonde in shock, as he tried to hide a smile. He didn't care where he went, so long as it was away from these two.

"Sorry guys, I guess you will have to eat without me."

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was currently sitting through a lecture on education. As a chuunin he had to be prepared to teach at the academy. As luck would have it, the orator was none other than Iruka.

"So it's important for us as teachers to use all of potential found in our students in order to…"

Shikamaru ignored his old teacher and focused on the world beyond the window: it was a fine day outside. _I bet the clouds look particularly fine today_, he thought. Maybe the ceiling would have the same effect. After a while however he stopped hearing the chuunin's voice. Quickly figuring out something was amiss he looked around his to find out everyone and a newcomer all had their eyes on him.

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "What? What'd I do?"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

When Naruto headed inside the Tower, he was a bit nervous. He didn't remember a time he had ever been personally brought here by someone. It soon turned to relief when he saw a friendly figure enter the building shortly after.

"Shikamaru!" he shouted, "So they called you too huh?"

The chuunin winced a bit; he still couldn't get used to Naruto's loud tone. "Hey Naruto. Thought I'd be meeting you here."

"Do you think it's the return of Team Oblivion?" he asked hopeful

"I hope not." said the Nara to the great shock of his friend. "No offense Naruto, but I kind of enjoy missions when I don't get almost killed every step of the way." The remark got a smile out of his temporary partner.

The clerk was waiting for them and weren't very surprised when he led them to the office of the head of council.

"Welcome gentlemen." Genta said cordially , "Do you know why you are here?"

"Because you have nothing better to do than harass us?" risked the chuunin.

"Good to see you're still as witty as always Mr. Nara." said the man with a snort. "The council has a mission for you."

Naruto's face lit up as Shikamaru's darkened.

"What kind of mission?" asked the young Nara.

"A diplomatic one: you'll be sent to protect an ambassador of Konoha while he tries to create friendly ties with another hidden village.

"…And you're using rookies? Isn't that a bit… risky?" argued Shikamaru.

"It is a stipulation on their part." explained the council leader, "They'll be also sending a team of rookies. Fortunately, we'll have a member of the ANBU accompanying you."

The chuunin shrugged. "Nothing I can do about that I guess. So who's—"

He was interrupted by an arrogant and authoritarian voice coming from the hallway. "I want in!"

The three of them looked at the newcomer. Naruto was surely the most surprised of the group.

"Sasuke?" he asked incredulously.

"Uchiha." confirmed Genta, "I was expecting you to come by a bit later."

The raven-haired boy shrugged. "Why, is there a part of this mission that doesn't concern me?"

It was the man's turn to shrug. "Actually, you won't be participating in this mission."

"You'd better have a good reason for that." He said assuredly.

"Because you'll be going with me on a mission." said a fifth person.

Genta sighed: he could have done without all the drama. He greeted the jounin. "Hatake: late as always." He faced Sasuke. "I'll be sending you two on a dangerous A-rank mission."

The Uchiha hid his excitement behind a smug grin. "I see."

"What! How come he gets an A-rank mission while we get this boring escort one?"

The man ignored Naruto altogether. "I suppose that means I'll be seeing you later. Uchiha, Hatake." He said, dismissing them both.

Sasuke left triumphantly, escorted by Kakashi who winked at the two young shinobi. When he was sure Sasuke was out of sight, his sneer immediately disappeared replaced by a placid expression: he had faked his anger. Shikamaru had guessed already and was surprised the Uchiha hadn't seen through such an obvious lie.

Naruto started where Shikamaru had been interrupted. "So yeah, about that last member…"

"You will meet him when you leave for the mission in two days. During that time you'll be briefed with details of the mission. Anything else?" he asked. Seeing neither of them had made a move he concluded that was the end of their little chat. "Very well then; dismissed."

The blonde was glad to leave Genta's office and happier to have gotten rid of Sasuke for at least a good while. "Whew!" he sighed. "We almost got stuck with the bastard!"

" Couldn't have been that bad, could it?" he took back what he said when Naruto seriously glared at him. "Apparently it could."

"Man I can't wait to leave! Who do think is the third teammate?" his partner tried to answer but Naruto did not give him the tine to. "Oh well, doesn't matter; it's not Sasuke!"

The chuunin still hadn't warmed up to the idea. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Who cares? Team Oblivion's back!"

Shikamaru smiled despite himself.

_**An alliance with the Sand? Will our heroes be able to do it?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: ****The White Chakra: you could also call it "reverse chakra if you want" So far we only know what it is (i.e. the reverse** **arrangement of the mental and physical energy forming the chakra****). As for its use… we'll let Shikamaru figure it out.**

**I ****also would like to mention I'll be updating "Love Definition" (a Digimon fic) as well from now on. Don't worry; it won't affect this fic… in theory.**


	25. Preparations

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **The Laughing Phoenix**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**25****. Peacemakers: Preparations**

_**A new mission for Team Oblivion! Time to get ready to do the impossible.**_

After hearing about the mission, Shikamaru visited his mentor to play one or two games of shogi, in order to unwind. Usually, Shikamaru went easy on his teacher; however the earlier interview with Genta had troubled him. Something Asuma had quickly realized since his pupil's strategies were much more aggressive than usual.

"Something the matter, Shikamaru?" he asked calmly.

"Besides the smoke" he retorted, "I got a new mission… from Genta."

The jounin tensed at the mention of Konoha council's head. He pressed for details and the Nara obliged. By the time he finished, Shikamaru had won the game as well. The discussion resumed as the two shinobi cleaned up.

"So, what do you think about it, Asuma?" asked the chuunin.

"Knowing Genta, he's either made plans for you to fail the mission or prepared for an 'accident' to happen along the way."

"Or probably both," said Shikamaru.

The jounin lighted another cigarette. "Cheer up, Shikamaru. Look at the bright side: it can't be worse than going after Kohaku. And this time, you actually know what to expect."

He couldn't argue with that. The boy thanked his mentor, and after some more talk about the overall progress of Team Ten, Shikamaru headed for his favorite resting place. Clearing his mind and resigning himself to what would most likely be a troublesome mission, he went home and started on the pack he'd be bringing for the mission.

He knew for a fact he'd be bringing his many explosive tags, light grenades and other small useful gadgets along, but also restocked on soldier pills – the things had been highly useful the last time – and various medicinal herbs. He also decided to bring the book on seals he was reading: hopefully this trip wouldn't be as dangerous as he thought and he'd find the time to study. He was thinking putting the book on chakra theory he borrowed from the Konoha library in the backpack as well, but after a brief skimming, he didn't see anything substantial. He hoped to find something better in Nara personal library instead. His father was already in the room when he entered.

"Hey, son. What's up?" he asked jovially.

The boy sighed before answering "I have a mission; a troublesome one."

The jounin raised an eyebrow "How troublesome?"

"Genta's involved." he replied. That was enough to give his father a good idea of what he had gotten himself into, which for some odd reason made the man smile.

Shikamaru had had a bad feeling about the mission ever since he entered the politician's office. That Naruto and now Shikaku smiled about it was getting on his nerves. Was there something he was missing? Then again his father had been acting anything but normal for some time. All that attention and focus on training was unnatural. Shikamaru shook his head. He was going to another dangerous mission soon: now was probably the best time to get to the bottom of this.

"Dad… what is wrong with you?" asked the young Nara

Shikaku eyed his son. "It's simple: you fulfilled one of the requirements."

"…For what?" he asked with a bit of uncertainty.

Shikaku took a brief moment in order to come up with the answer. "Let's call it a coming of age of sorts."

"Coming of age", huh? When he looked at the bigger picture it made sense. There were some gaps in the Nara history that had no explanation. Furthermore, he had this nagging feeling about the purpose of the clan. Most clans had very clear role in Konoha , like the Akimichi, the Arabume, or even the Inuzuka clan; as far as the Nara clan was concerned, he was tempted to answer "support", but even then he wasn't sure. He felt like something was missing. Maybe this "coming of age" stuff had the answers to his questions.

"I guess that explains a lot." He finally admitted.

His father smiled. "So you've noticed. Good; wouldn't be as fun otherwise."

Shikamaru ignored that last statement. "So how many of those requirements are there left?"

From his dad's reaction when he talked about the absolute control technique, he gathered that was the requirement he has fulfilled; it _was_ one of the secret jutsu he had to learn in order to be considered heir after all.

"Just one more:" said his father "During your next mission, you must kill an enemy."

The boy studied his father in order to make sure he wasn't joking. "… That's all?" asked the boy. He had expected something a bit harder, and also a bit less… lethal.

Shikaku answered with a simple "Yep."

"Anything else you want to add?" he hoped as much.

"That's pretty much it, for the requirement." He replied nonchalantly. "But I do believe you came here looking for something."

Shikamaru had nearly forgotten why he had come in the first place. "Yeah; have any books on chakra?"

The older Nara scratched his chin. "There is one, but you won't find it here." He smirked. "I could lend it to you, but you'll have to earn it."

An internal struggle ensued. Shikamaru's natural laziness and the wariness he now had towards his father battled his curiosity and desire to help Naruto. In the end he sighed.

"So," he finally asked, already regretting his answer, "what do I have to do?"

His father grinned. "When are you leaving?"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

This would be the last Team Seven meeting for a while. Naruto tried his best not to show his excitement and opted to pout instead, to give Sasuke the impression he actually envied his position. Sasuke acted like his smug self, Sakura was obviously devastated and Kakashi was still giving Naruto reproachful looks when the two other teammates weren't watching.

"Be careful Sasuke." said Sakura for the umpteenth time.

The boy sighed. "I'll be fine Sakura."

"Yeah, I'll be with him after all." added Kakashi.

"That's what I'm worried about;" she said glaring at him. "You're always late!"

The jounin flinched before laughing nervously. Sakura kept nagging him about her beloved's safety. The Uchiha, on the other hand, seemed more interested in what his rival had to say. Truth be said, he had hoped Naruto would accompany them. He appreciated a companion on an equal level of skill a bit more then he let on ; even if his friend had the annoying tendency to promote teamwork.

"What about you, dobe?" he asked Naruto, "Nothing to say?"

"Uh, me?"

Naruto was already using impressive jutsu he had learned alongside Shikamaru in his mind. He had to subdue his urge to ignore the murderous big shot.

"No, nothing." he answered. Seeing Sasuke's mood turning a bit too sour for his tastes, he decided to tease him. "Be careful out there; I won't be there to bail your ass of your usual mess."

This had a more positive response from his teammate who shrugged, hiding a smirk. "Whatever. When are you leaving anyway?" he asked, a bit curious about his Naruto's own mission.

Sakura, who was still arguing with Kakashi, somehow heard that last part, and focused on the two boys instead. Naruto was leaving? When did that happen? She had counted on the blonde's company to bring her through Sasuke's absence. However, more important questions clashed in her mind: how come Naruto hadn't gloated about this mission to the kunoichi? Was he going alone? Wasn't that dangerous?

"You're leaving?" she finally asked, "Where are you going?"

"Dunno," he answered casually, "but I'll be leaving in two days."

"Try not to die of boredom." mocked Sasuke.

Naruto answered with a jab of his own. "With you gone that won't be a problem."

The Uchiha twitched. "Why you—"

But his retort was interrupted by the arrival of the lazy chuunin.

"Hey Kakashi." said Shikamaru as he waved at the whole team.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto beamed. Sakura noticed with a bit of annoyance that Naruto seemed happier all of a sudden.

Contrary to the usual, Shikamaru ignored his friend and addressed himself directly to the jounin. "I got a favor to ask; are you leaving soon?"

"Yeah; as soon as we're done here, actually." said Kakashi.

"What _is_ your mission, anyway?" asked Naruto, not wanting to be left out.

Kakashi hesitated a bit, but shrugged in the end. "I guess there's no harm in telling you; we're going to look for the next Hokage… among other things."

"Really?" said Naruto eagerly; he was starting to really envy Sasuke. "Who?"

The jounin smiled. "I think you met him before, Naruto; he's the one who taught you the summoning technique."

The blonde's excitement quickly turned into disappointment. "What? You mean that pervy sage?"

Kakashi looked at his pupil nervously while the other teens eyed the jounin.

"I don't think Jiraiya would favor this moniker." said the jounin tactfully.

The mention of his real name got the appropriate reaction out of the others around, who all looked at Naruto in disbelief.

"Naruto, you got taught by the legendary Jiraiya?" asked Sakura.

The Jinchuuriki crossed his arms as he snorted. "What's so great about him anyway?"

"He's one of the Legendary Three Ninjas: that guy's on equal footing with Orochimaru." stated Shikamaru.

The boy only looked half-surprised. "Really? Didn't look like it to me."

"Why do you call him like that anyway?" asked Sakura.

"I met him while he was peeping on women in the hot springs and he told me himself he was, and I quote, a 'super pervert'."

Silence.

"Pervert Sage it is." concluded Sasuke.

"Indeed." Shikamaru nodded.

"Don't you dare ever become like him, Naruto!" said Sakura ominously.

Kakashi sighed. _Jiraiya, what kind of legacy will you leave to the next generation?_

The young Nara threw a sidelong glance in Kakashi's direction. If his hunch was right, now that he had mentioned Jiraiya, he might have a way to grab his full attention.

"Hmm… that reminds me. Didn't Jiraiya write a book series?"

The jounin quickly understood what was going through Shikamaru's mind. He coughed. "Anyway, mind telling me why you're here, Shikamaru?"

The chuunin grinned. "Sure: Let's talk."

The pair left the rest of Team Seven to themselves. As her eyes fell on Naruto, Sakura quickly remembered her concern for Naruto's… lack of enthusiasm.

"Naruto."

The genin raised an eyebrow. "Sakura? Something wrong?"

"I…" there was that hesitation again; it was like Naruto was totally normal, yet there was something… off. Like hearing a noise without being able to tell where it came from. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving on a mission?"

Naruto looked genuinely surprised by the question. "Oh… I thought Kakashi or Sasuke would have told you, sorry." He said sheepishly. "It's just a boring escort mission anyway."

"So, who are you going with?" she asked.

"Shikamaru, another genin and some ANBU; It's going to great!"

Sakura blinked. _A boring escort mission with an ANBU? _"But you just said—"

But the Jinchuuriki quickly corrected his mistake. "The mission itself is going to be dull, but I suppose with the ANBU there we'll get a lot of free time; it's like another vacation!"

The pink-haired kunoichi eyed him suspiciously and so did the Uchiha. Naruto was trying to come up with something else to convince them this wasn't as big a deal they thought when they heard a familiar screeching noise.

Sakura tensed. "Hey, that's—"

"Chidori!" confirmed Sasuke.

The group rushed off in their leader's direction as the jounin finished gathering the chakra.

"And there you have it." said the shinobi as he dispelled his jutsu. "I gather you remember what Gai and I said about the technique during the chuunin exams?"

"Yeah… that'll be all;" said Shikamaru as he made various mental notes. "Thanks Kakashi."

Naruto approached his friend. "Hey! What were you guys doing, Shikamaru?" demanded the blonde.

The boy looked at the other genin and simply snickered. "Secret."

Sakura hoped their mentor would tell them something. "Kakashi?"

"Nothing much;" he admitted, "he simply wanted to see the chidori."

"Why?"

Kakashi deliberately ignored Sakura's question and thought about Shikamaru's request. A smile appeared on his lips.

_N__ow this I have to see__._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

_W__hy didn't I tell her?_

Naruto was taking a night walk. The nights when he couldn't fall asleep easily were few and usually occurred when he felt like he hadn't spent enough energy. This was the first time he couldn't sleep because he had something on his mind. And it was Sakura of all things that upset him.

That didn't make sense. At all. Shikamaru would usually have made perfect sense: what was up with him? He had practically ignored him today. Why? He hadn't done anything wrong: he was studying – he shuddered, the word still left a bad taste in his mouth; he was training; he had found himself a sparring partner… actually, Shikamaru did; so why was he acting like that? He didn't seem mad, or upset, or worried. However, somehow Naruto trusted his friend to be just that, his friend; so maybe that explained why he wasn't worried about his behavior.

Sasuke, he could understand. He still couldn't get over the accidental attempt on his life, nor his cockiness… he couldn't get over _him_, period. And suddenly, the bastard acted like he was interested in him. Why he ignored Sakura and wanted to talk to him was beyond him. Could he be… no way! He shuddered. He wanted to rebuild his clan, right? So he just couldn't... Man, now he knew he'd have nightmares about it.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he knew reason he felt so weird about Sakura. He already knew she was changing – not getting better or worse if you asked him; just different – so he should have expected something like this evening happening, yet it caught him totally by surprise. Why did she notice? _And why didn't I tell her?_ He knew he should have, that was part of his usual self. He had told Choji afterwards knowing Shikamaru had probably already told him; he had even shouted his joy in the streets – he had quickly shut up when he saw all the cold glares. He had somehow unconsciously decided not to tell her, and that was a problem. Sakura was getting nosy lately: maybe she would finally notice his mask. And bizarrely, _that_ wasn't the part that worried him.

_Argh! What's wrong with me?_

Naruto was surprised to find himself in his sparring field. _When did I get here? _His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sharp and precise movements, coming from nearby. He approached the sounds as silently as possible. What he saw left his mouth hanging open.

_Fast, precise, keep the form._ Her hands were flying by themselves in directions Hinata had memorized since she was six. _Turn, strike, half step, reach... gently_. These moves, however, she had gotten right only recently. She took a deep breath. _And now for some fun_.

If the Gentle Fist kata were amazing, it was the next part that left him breathless. Hinata was there but at the same time she didn't look like Hinata; she didn't _move_ like Hinata. The confidence, the focus, the… did she really pull _that_ off? He wanted to cheer, but couldn't. He could just watch, mesmerized by her form. Moments later, the girl assumed the neutral position, took a deep breath, and finally exhaled. At the same time Naruto let out a breath he didn't he'd been holding. It was only after that he found himself able to speak.

"Wow." He finally whispered.

That was enough to make Hinata jump and assume a fighting stance. She activated her byakugan and nearly choked when she saw her intruder.

"That was amazing!" roared Naruto. "I never knew the gentle fist had moves like that."

The poor girl had gone from white to red so fast anybody less oblivious would have worried. "N-N-Naruto?" she asked in disbelief.

Naruto had seen her train in secret, Naruto had seen her…

"Damn, Hinata! Those moves, I don't really know how to say it; it's like… like… Hinata?" Unfortunately, the Hyuuga heiress simply crumpled under the Kyuubi Host's horrified gaze. "Hey, Hinata Are you okay ? Hinata?"

The blonde panicked for a brief moment, then remembered what Shikamaru had told him about the shy Hyuuga heiress. Knowing what might happen, the chuunin had advised keeping smelling salts on him. Naruto acted as the chuunin had told him and moved away when he heard a groan. She stirred, and gently opened her eyes, which got a sigh of relief from the young boy.

"I—… Naruto?"

"Hey!" he said, not trying to wave too nervously.

When she realized what happened and why she was on the ground, it took all she could not faint again, and then some. "I… fainted, didn't I?" the boy reluctantly nodded. She lowered her head. "Sorry."

Naruto waved it off. "Nah, it's my fault; I shouldn't have startled you. But I heard a noise, and then I saw you practicing Gentle Style, and you were… dancing?" amazement could be easily heard in his tone. "Anyway it was awesome! How come you never attacked me with those moves?"

Hinata meekly shook her head. "Because that _was_ dancing; a traditional Hyuuga dance."

"What?" he looked at her in disbelief. " But I could've sworn … never mind." He lowered arms he had raised in the excitement.

"Sorry."

The blonde titled his head. "Huh, why are you…?" he quickly shrugged it off. "Anyway… training at night? Sounds suspicious: what else are you hiding?" he asked, a mischievous grin on his face.

The Hyuuga heiress blushed. "I-I'm not—"

The Jinchuuriki had his mind set. Secret training implied secret technique. It just had to. "You have a secret move, don't you?" seeing her look away silently, instead of replying, he figured he was right. "Oh, you do, you do! Can I see?" he asked like a kid.

Hinata hid a small laugh, but had to refuse. "Sorry, I-… it's not ready yet."

Naruto gave up. "Fine; but you have to show me when you're done. Deal?"

Hinata nodded, and looked at the boy while he was looking around. "Naruto? Why are you here?" She was glad to spend time with him, however she was a curious, and worried; Naruto rarely was out at this time.

He had a tired smile. "Couldn't sleep."

"You have a mission." She stated more for herself than for him.

He nodded. She didn't like that. "A dangerous one?" she asked worriedly.

This time he shrugged. "I dunno," he answered honestly. "But I think so; the guy who gave me the mission hates my guts after all."

She apologized with more sadness this time. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" He wanted to add '… all the time' but felt it would be rude.

She played with her fingers nervously. "You did so much for me, and I—"

He beamed at her. "Keep sparring with me, and be my friend: that's all I'm asking."

She blushed, but sighed soon after. "Sounds… small."

"Trust me, you've already done much more for me than my teammates ever did." His mood darkened as he said that.

Hinata knew something was wrong between Naruto and his teammates; she could see it on his face. She had also visited her uncle Kohaku and he had told her what happened; poor Naruto had gone through so much. She wanted to help him. She wanted to be there for him. But even with the sparring, she felt useless.

The heiress took a deep breath. "I want… I need to be stronger."

Naruto smiled. "Eh, me too! What a coincidence!"

"How do you do it?" she asked out of the blue.

The sudden question confused him. "Do what?"

"Become strong." She looked at him. "You're stronger than before, much stronger."

The boy grinned proudly at the compliment, and then thought about the question carefully. "I know this is going to sound weird but… because I asked?"

"… You asked?"

"It felt like… every time I needed to become stronger I needed someone else's help in order to get there." Kakashi, the closet pervert, the super pervert, and now Shikamaru: they all helped him get where he was today. "I got a lot of people help me get better; you should do the same."

Apparently, this wasn't the answer Hinata was looking for because her shoulders slumped so ever slightly. "I tried. Kurenai said I should start studying genjutsu."

"Ok. Cool." he said.

The boy had never liked genjutsu, yet couldn't deny their usefulness. He had hard time figuring out how it could be applied to the Gentle Fist specialist, but since a jounin suggested it, they must have had something in mind.

"Kiba and Shino think I should try to find another style." She added.

He thought about it. "Ok. Cool."

Now that he could see pretty well, actually. With the Byakugan and their physical training focused on speed more than power, adopting another style could only help. It only came to finding the right one.

Meanwhile the girl laughed softly at Naruto's "perceptive" remarks. "…You're not really helping, Naruto."

The blonde noticed his lack of nuance and smiled sheepishly. "Ha sorry, I'm not good at these things."

He thought about it again. So far he had heard what others thought about the problem, and he had come up with a solution himself – though he didn't really think it would work – but he didn't know what _she_ thought about it. Though Naruto did ask for help and whatnot, advice always helped him develop his own style. Those ideas… he had no idea what _Hinata_ thought of them.

"Well, what do _you_ want to do?" he finally asked.

"Me?" The Byakugan user returned to her fidgeting. Not because it was the first time she had been asked the question, but because the discussion headed towards known territory. "I want to master Gentle Fist."

"Why don't you that?"

She lowered her head. "I can't. I think I hit a wall." She didn't know why or how to solve it either.

"Hmm… I think this is something you should ask Neji or your father about it."

She smiled bitterly. Others had told her the same thing. "I tried; I don't think they can help me."

A moment for them to gather his thoughts and he would try to comfort her, like the others did. Maybe he'd come up with another alternative. She didn't want to learn another style or stray from taijutsu, she wanted to master the Gentle Fist! It was painful; it seemed nobody understood.

Naruto however surprised the kunoichi by taking out a small book instead. "Oh! I know! Let's start small." He said, ruffling through the pages. After a moment he stopped, seemingly finding what he was looking for. He took a didactic tone. "What's your style Hinata?"

She raised her eyebrow. "Huh? Naruto, I just told you I—"

He waved his finger, like Iruka would have done. "I didn't mean the fighting style, I meant _your_ style."

"I… what?" she absolutely no idea what he was talking about. The only thing she had learned about styles was the different taijutsu – and that all of them were worthless compared to the might of the Jyuuken.

Naruto looked at Hinata from head to toe. "Well if that helps, I think you're more of a defensive type."

That simple statement gave her a general idea of he meant, but she wanted to be sure. "Why do you think that?" she asked warily.

"You don't attack a lot." He quickly tried to encourage her when he saw her lower her head. "Not that it's a bad thing! It's just your style, you know? Anyways that secret technique you're working on, it's a defensive move, right?"

"… Yes." As she had figured, style meant the general way to approach problems and combat in general. As long as she could remember, Hinata was more of a "react" person, meaning she preferred staying back and look at a situation before acting. Like Naruto had said, this wasn't a bad thing but…

"I don't think I'm suited for the Gentle Fist" she admitted bitterly.

The realization was quite a shock, yet it made perfect sense. Naruto was right in that it had something to do with Hinata, yet it wasn't her defensive style that made things so complicated, or rather, it was only part of the problem. Following Naruto's lead and going back to the basics to look at her physical abilities and talents, she realized she just wasn't suited for the more advanced moves Neji and her father had mastered. These required a control that still eluded her. The more she thought about it, the more it became apparent, and the deeper her despair.

Naruto could see Hinata was down, but he had no idea how to cheer her up. He said the first thing that came up.

"Isn't there another Gentle Fist style?"

She shook her head. Naruto was starting to understand the problem. Out of ideas, the blonde came out with the only logical solution left.

"How about you_ create_ one?"

Hinata's eyes grew wide. The Hyuuga clan was so enrooted in tradition that the simple _idea_ of another Gentle Fist style was foreign to the kunoichi. It came close to heresy. "Naruto," she finally whispered, as if he had transgressed some kind of taboo, "that's—"

Naruto pretended not hear. "I'm sure you can do it Hinata: you're smart and you're strong. I'm sure you'll have something great to show me by the time I come back."

She had to hand it the shinobi in front of her; he had a knack for shocking ideas. He had proposed something… daunting to say the least, yet after coming up with her own version of the Sixty-Four Palms ; it seemed like a natural progression. Naruto was right; it _was_ too soon to give up. She already knew she would have to work harder than most in order to be able to face the rest of her clan. If that meant creating a new style, so be it. Maybe it could help other Hyuuga members.

An unsure smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you Naruto."

He encouraged her with a thumbs up. "Don't sweat it, Hinata; just do you best."

She would, and she'd make it work.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto left his apartment a bit groggy that morning. The village hadn't quite woken yet; the team was supposed to meet a little before sunrise. The blonde barely managed to suppress a shiver as he felt a small breeze sweeping the deserted streets. He smiled despite the cold; walking at this hour was quite enjoyable: there was nobody around to make him feel like an outcast. He took his time to look at the town at his leisure.

Naruto exited the market place and waited for Shikamaru near an old building. The chuunin arrived a moment later. The Jinchuuriki idly wondered how his friend could be so lazy, yet punctual. He shrugged; no use complaining about his good traits. As long as he didn't become like Kakashi and annoy him by his lateness. After a brief greeting the two set out to the rendezvous point.

"I wonder who's the last team member." mused the genin. He was still cold, but his tension rose as the moment of departure came nearer.

The young Nara shook his head. "Dunno, but I got a bad feeling about this." He said darkly.

"Why?"

"Well, for one, we still don't with which hidden village we're dealing with, or how long will the negotiations take, or even the name of our diplomat; there're too many unknowns." He sighed. "Still the main reason is kind of obvious." He smiled bitterly. "It is Genta that gave us the mission."

The blonde elbowed his teammate "Don't be such a downer! How about you worrying about… oh I don't know… things in front of us?" he ignored Shikamaru's retort and focused instead on the silhouette coming into view. "Speaking of which, I think there's our third partner over there."

Upon closing the distance, a boy wearing a coat and sunglasses along with what looked like messy hair, was looking in their direction. The blonde immediately recognized Hinata's teammate. "Hey you're Shino, right? Are you on the mission as well?"

The bug user waved at the two shinobi. Naruto smiled, however the chuunin stopped, looked at the two of them, slapped his forehead, and sighed. Meanwhile, Shino paled.

"This is bad." groaned Shikamaru.

Shino slightly lowered his head. "Indeed."

Naruto looked from one ninja to another in confusion. "Eh? What are you guys talking about?"

Shikamaru was rapidly putting pieces together. "Putting the three of us in a team… diplomacy between hidden villages…" He didn't like the conclusion. "Genta is a bastard!"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

The genius did not bother explaining his reasoning to Naruto. Massing his temples he felt a headache coming. "Naruto, remember the day of the invasion."

The genin did as told. It all came back to him, his fight against Neji, Kankuro, forfeiting his match, Shikamaru "losing" against Temari… Sakura and him going after Sasuke, Shino finally fighting against Kankuro, then the final fight against—

He gulped. "We're going to deal with the Hidden Sand, aren't we?"

Shino nodded. "The probability is high."

Shikamaru confirmed his horrible suspicions. "So is the probability of the genin team they will bring of being…"

Naruto felt sick. "This is bad."

Facing Gaara once in a lifetime was more than enough. He didn't like the idea of meeting the Sand Siblings again at all. He could trust Shikamaru to handle Temari, and maybe Shino would gain the upper hand against Kankuro like the last time, but going back to his fight against the psychotic genin, he realized the only reason he had fared so well against him was that Gaara hadn't been using his sand as well as he could. Sure, he was far advanced from what he was a couple of months ago; that didn't mean he wanted to face the sand demon anytime soon.

His thoughts were rapidly going from mild optimistic to downright depressing when Shino, and surprisingly Shikamaru snapped their heads towards the nearest building. Looking in that direction, he saw that a mask wearing shinobi with long purple hair had just landed on the roof. Looking closer, the slender figure denoted it was a kunoichi, most likely the ANBU that was going to accompany them to wherever they were heading. How Shikamaru was able to notice her presence was curious; the woman was too far for them to pick up sound… that is, if she made any noise at all. Shino and his bugs were understandable, the Shadow user… not so much.

_Gotta remember to ask him about that later._

Behind her porcelain mask, the young kunoichi was annoyed. She always pride in her stealth and infiltrations abilities, and two of the three brats had found her like she was a beginner. She had read their files and expected no less from the bug user, but that the Nara picked up her presence as well… as far as she knew Nara weren't known to be sensing types. Upon closer inspection he had a scowl. _A lazy __**and**__ annoying Nara… just what I needed_. Add to that the stupid look on mini-Anko over there and she already had the firm impression that accepting this mission was a big mistake.

Still, acting like the professional she was, she landed near the teens to greet them. "I suppose you'll be the kids I'll be traveling with." She sighed. "Hi, I'm the ANBU who'll be traveling with you during this mission." Finding small talk to be useless, she quickly briefed her team on the mission. "We'll be traveling to a neutral village where the negotiations will take place. The diplomat will be escorted there two weeks from now; at that point the discussions will begin. Your job will be to protect the man during that period. Till then you'll be asked to spend time with the other genin team in order to build a stronger partnership. Any questions before we leave?

"Why are we leaving now if our mission actually starts in two weeks?"

She had expected that question. "That's because my task is to take care of the security of the place before and after the meeting. Also, you'll be meeting the other shinobi before the negotiations."

"Any idea of the kind of opponent we might face?" asked the bug user.

"There shouldn't be any if the info wasn't leaked, but otherwise expect any of the other hidden villages to interfere; alliances can be threatening to villages planning any sort of invasions. Any other questions?" not that she expected any more.

Naruto raised a hand. "Why are you wearing a mask?"

She simply stared at the blonde. _This kid has to be kidding me!_ "Because I'm an ANBU; any other stupid questions ?"

The kid frowned, but did not give up. "No really, why do you wear a mask? It's not like this is an ANBU mission, or else they would have sent a squad. And it's not like other Konoha nin don't know who you really are. Besides, it's not like people outside the village will actually recognize you anyway. In fact, you guys are supposed to be undercover agents: if you hadn't worn that mask, we would have never known you were an ANBU."

_This kid… he's pretty sharp._

"I bet it's because you're hiding an awesome battle scar or something." Concluded the genin.

Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto, for guys, scars are cool, but for a woman it's a bad thing."

"Oh." Naruto shrugged and turned his attention to his friend. "So you think it's a scar?"

"Dunno, don't care." said the chuunin as he shrugged himself. "It might be because she's ugly, or maybe she likes to wear masks; not my business ."

The kunoichi twitched.

Even Shino offered an opinion. "Maybe Naruto thinks every ANBU has a scar underneath."

"No! that's not what I—"

The small talk came to a halt as a sword appeared from behind Naruto and stopped an inch from his throat.

"Listen," snarled the ANBU, "I'm only going to say this _once_: I've been through a lot recently and I'm not the most patient or sociable person around . So if you get on my nerves you might wake up with a limb missing."

The poor boy turned blue. "C-can she really do that?"

For some reason, the other two weren't in any hurry to find out. After a moment, the kunoichi sheathed her sword and walked away muttering about babysitting brats and her reason for joining the ANBU in the first place .

Now Shikamaru was sure he'd be getting a headache. "Oh great. First," he whined, "we just learned that we're probably going to face the Sand freaks and now this troublesome—" Said woman simply appeared and towered over him. The chuunin tried to not look impressed. "What do you want _now_, woman?"

She decided to ignore the last remark, much more interested in his earlier statement. "What did you just say?"

"Huh, about the Sand? I'm not sure but everything points that way." He narrowed his eyes "Wait, how come _you_ don't know?"

The rookies weren't able to see her smile, but figured something changed where they heard her tone. "Wasn't part of the briefing." she looked at them and snorted. "Now, if there aren't any more stupid comments, we're leaving."

The teens looked at each other.

"Oh!" said the ANBU as she turned around. " My name is Yugao."

_**A new team, a new adventure! The shinobi of the Leaf move forward!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N:**** New Chapter! For those who know who Yugao is… yeah, I went there. Genta is a bastard through and through.**

**Oh, and you know that fic I said I was going to continue? Well ad****d to that another fic I'm going to start. It's an Avatar fic; I hope you look forward to it. And no, it won't bother Shadow and Wind. Those fics will probably be updated once per month or two. No problem at all… I'm in perfect control… I think… **

**R&R**

**Rev: ****P.S. Spelling and grammar have gotten much better since The Laughing Phoenix started betaing, thank him for me!**

Rep: I know, right? She's a great Beta reader! I already thanked her a bunch of times, but let me do it one more time cause she'd just that great. Thanks phoenix!

**Rev: action?**

Rep: coming in the next chapter, I promise!


	26. Interference

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **The Laughing Phoenix**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**26****. Peacemakers: ****Interference**

_**And they're off! Will team Oblivion make it to their destination safely?**_

"Naruto! Naruto?"

Sakura was in front of Uzumaki's apartment, thinking of spending some time with him before he left. Her friend was acting strange as of late, and she couldn't quite figure why. Even after she had made a conscious effort to include him in their activities, he seemed distant. At first she simply mistook it for simple unease, which was understandable: anyone would feel nervous if a friend suddenly changed their behavior around them. Then why did it worry her? Well, because Naruto had been more than a little nervous: he was avoiding them.

Or at least he tried: that's the clear impression the blonde left her. He smiled, he gloated, he goofed off… he cringed every time he was invited for ramen, sighed when a mission took more than a day, and spent more and more time in Kakashi's company. Sakura couldn't tell if Sasuke had noticed but this behavior certainly troubled her. She realized using Naruto in order to get over Sasuke's departure wasn't such a good idea, and opted to use the time to figure out her partner's problem instead. There was a slight problem though:

_Where __**is**__ he?_

She left the residential area and tried Ichiraku's. She roamed the training areas and even looked for him near the Hokage tower. Naruto being nowhere to be found, the kunoichi decided to wait for Naruto by Ichiraku's ramen. It was on her way there that she met Choji, who greeted her with his natural joviality.

She returned his greeting, but her expression darkened ever so slightly. The fact that the chubby genin was striding by himself alerted Sakura that something was wrong. She returned his greetings as casually as possible while the worst case scenario was gradually forming in her head.

_He wouldn't… would he?_

She did the equivalent of a mental gulp and asked anyway. "Did Shikamaru… leave?"

Choji nodded. "Yeah, he left Yesterday with Naruto and Shino—" he almost instantly noticed Sakura's mood change. "…Is something the matter, Sakura?"

She smiled at him despite the knot in her stomach and shook her head. "Not at all, thanks."

Choji watched her walk away and shook his head: something was definitely wrong.

He was right. Sakura quickly turned into the first deserted alley she could find before leaned against a wall and started taking deep breaths. Naruto had lied – to her – and that pained the kunoichi more than she thought it would. She knew Naruto; he would never lie for something stupid as this. Actually, when was the last time he ever lied to her? Maybe… his mission with Shikamaru and the ANBU, the way he kept to himself… it made more sense now.

_It's not over_. She realized bitterly. _He's still in danger and he's hiding it from us_.

Why hadn't he said anything? The man Kakashi had called Genta was powerful and wanted him dead and all he was relying on was that lazy one-hit-wonder Shikamaru? How could he trust someone like him and not his own team? Was he trying to protect them from the politician's influence? Was he trying to protect _her_? She felt so powerless: she had been left once again, her friends facing untold danger and all she could fuss over it. Pathetic.

Well, no more! She'd take things into her own hand from now on. She'd get stronger, more dependable, and then…

_I'll get you for this Naruto! I'll pound you so hard you'll never lie to me again!_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The newly formed team consisting of Naruto, Shino, Shikamaru and Yugao, was casually walking towards their destination, or at least the boys were. The ANBU moved on ahead and quickly came back to her group. It wasn't the first time she had done so, and each time she did, her mood was getting uglier. Naruto was noticing the change in the atmosphere and threw nervous glances at Shikamaru.

"You sure it's a good idea? She might get angry if we continue to stall like that."

The genius' eyebrow rose. "'If'? That's what I'm counting on."

"Well, I hope you have a hell of a good plan then." He mumbled darkly.

Shino, who had said nothing, gave them a look that meant he agreed with Naruto. They had only made a couple of more steps when the kunoichi landed in front of them.

"Why are you guys so slow?" she asked.

Shikamaru mysteriously found himself a couple of steps in front of the other boys. The ANBU glared at him. _So much for teamwork_. He sighed.

Troublesome.

"Well, maybe you're in a hurry, but we're not." he stated.

She put her hand on her mask as she looked up. "You're already starting to test my patience, Nara; I thought the men of your clan were supposed to be smart."

"You forgot lazy." He let out. She frowned. He shrugged. "Look, if you're in such a hurry, why don't you go ahead?" he proposed, "It's not like we can't take care of ourselves."

"I can't let a group of genin—"

His hand left his pocket and pointed at his vest. "I'm a chuunin."

Well, well, that vest _could_ be useful from time to time.

Yugao took a good long look at her team. These guys had faced the Sand before; they weren't nobodies. Plus, the Nara had performed at least good enough to be promoted. It's not like they'd simply run away, right? She knew she shouldn't leave them, but she also couldn't pass up the idea of having a week to herself.

She finally shrugged. "Whatever. We meet in ten days, in order to meet the other genin team. I'll be waiting at the gates of the village at dawn; don't be late."

The ANBU disappeared in a puff of smoke. The three rookies looked at each other and allowed themselves a small victory grin.

The chuunin snorted. "Good riddance."

"You pulled it off great, you know!" said the blonde as he patted his shoulder.

The Nara gave him a look. "No thanks to you." He remarked.

"Well, excuse me for remembering she had a frigging _sword_ down my neck, you know!" he retorted.

"You have the higher position, you should take responsibility." Shino added wisely.

The teen put his hands in his pockets and started walking. "Troublesome: why bother? Next time I'll keep my mouth shut."

Naruto winced before going after his friend. "Oh, come on! Don't be a sourpuss Shikamaru."

In the comfort of his coat, Shino smiled: the mission might perhaps be dangerous but it was certainly interesting. He quickly caught up to their interim leader and inquired about their next move.

"Anything in mind?" he calmly asked.

"Cloud watching for one; maybe some training later."

Naruto's grin grew wider. "Alright! Training!"

"You brought your books?" asked the chuunin innocently. Oh, the fun he got from the Jinchuuriki's decomposed face!

"Aw man, you've got to be kidding me!" Naruto then grinned evilly. "How about a spar instead?"

The young Nara stepped back warily. "Naruto I don't think—"

But it was too late; the blonde was already lunging straight for him with a haymaker followed by a roundhouse… that both missed their target. Naruto's grin grew wider and attacked with more ferocity. He was pleasantly surprised to find no matter what the pattern or the feints he pulled off, none of his strikes found their target. He jumped back and made five clones. All six of them surrounded the frowning chuunin and waited on the original's signal for a simultaneous attack.

As the closest clone was about to connect with his elbow, Shikamaru simply vanished and reappeared skidding a couple of meters from there. The Narutos halted their attack and prepared for a second offensive when the Nara pointed downwards. One of them looked down and gulped: It seemed that their friend had left them a present before leaving.

"Oh, Sh—"

Fortunately, that exploding tag was only half as powerful as a normal exploding tag. It still took care of all the clones and sent Naruto skidding on the floor. It took a few seconds for his ears to stop ringing, and by the time his focus came back, Shikamaru was already there, a kunai in hand, towering above him. He let the blade fall. The blonde winced as the kunai planted itself in the ground near his face.

The chuunin shook his head. "Like I was saying: no sparring."

Sweat could be seen on the genin who suddenly chuckled. "Sorry?"

The chuunin looked at him questioningly. When he figured out the reason behind the smile he slapped his forehead.

"You were testing me." He said.

"I had to find out what you were up to one way or another." explained the blonde. "You _never_ told me what you're up to."

"Troublesome." But the blonde was right.

Naruto got up and looked at him expectantly. "So? What did you just do?"

"When I moved earlier? That was body flicker". Answered the chuunin

"A seal-less Body Flicker? Sweet." The genin was definitely working on that next.

"The way I dodged your blows, I came up with myself: let's call it Mind Flicker."

Naruto blinked. "You mean that was a jutsu?"

"…Among other things."

Well at least he was able to test the results of his training. Body Flicker only took a week, since he had already had grasped the theory behind it. It also happened to explain the Mind Flicker technique. Basically, "Body Flicker" was temporary orders to stop all limiting activities on the limbs enabling one to move at incredible speeds; so fast, in fact, that the user appeared to teleport. Using it without hand sings was a simple matter of tricking his mind to consciously replicate the order.

Inversely, "Mind Flicker" was sharpening senses to their extremes, giving the impression of the world to slow down. Actually, the user could increase the power to a degree where the world around him would stop. On the other hand the body couldn't follow after a certain level of slow down and it shared its counterpart's limitation in that after a few seconds only, the jutsu would put incredible strain on the mind. A combination of them was interesting, but he couldn't manage the simultaneous usage of both jutsu at the moment. If that wasn't enough of a hassle, the Mind Flicker Technique required what he now dubbed "reverse chakra". At least the stuff was getting easier to make.

Meanwhile, Shino had been impressed by his teammates' little demonstration. He raised a single eyebrow.

"You… train him?" he asked.

The young Nara shook his head. "No, not really, I'm just making him go through the academy curriculum." Shino gave him a look. Shikamaru guessed it was the equivalent of him narrowing his eyes and added "I'm helping him with the basics: whatever learns on his own is his business."

"So how about that training?" eagerly asked the blonde.

"Tomorrow."

"Eh? But why?"

"'Cause you just attacked your tutor, idiot."

The blonde snorted, but did not complain. The group decided to cover a reasonable distance before calling it a day. In order to pass time, Naruto tried to know Shino better. Interesting task: While Shino was sociable, he seemed a bit susceptible. Naruto kept making faux pas and had no idea why. Shikamaru said nothing, but made a mental note to be wary of conversation around the bug user. He had to wonder how Kiba didn't go crazy around his team; Not that the chuunin would mind the peace and quiet, but Kiba… let's just say Kiba was a lot like Naruto.

It was late in the afternoon when they stopped for a short break. Shino took this opportunity to warn Shikamaru.

"We're being followed." he said casually. Naruto tensed, but continued acting normal.

"Since when?" asked the chuunin.

"About a couple of hours."

"Are they close?"

"A reasonable distance: about half a mile."

"Your thoughts?" he finally asked.

"They're good trackers. It's an ambush." Shino thought a moment. "Probably tonight, if they don't notice my insects."

The genius nodded. "Call them back: we already have all the info we need."

Naruto came near the other two. "Do you have a plan?" he asked.

Shikamaru smiled. "Yes: we let them ambush us."

Naruto said nothing, but he could swear Shino was grinning under his coat.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Two shadows met in the clearing near the Rookies camp site.

"They are sleeping." said the shinobi who had just arrived.

"Are you sure?" the other figure chuckled "What fools."

He snapped his fingers and suddenly six more shadows gathered in the clearing. They silently moved towards the fire and drew their various weapons. Now above their targets, the leader gave a signal and they immediately attacked the black-haired shinobi while grabbing the blonde kid. The three of them vanished at almost the same time.

"Damn! It's a trap!"

As that was being said, several well hidden tags exploded. The cloaked leader made another sign before the eight of them were completely engulfed by the flames. During that time, Naruto, Shino and Shikamaru came out of hiding.

"Overkill much?" asked the blonde.

Shikamaru shrugged, but remained on alert when he saw Shino still tense.

"It's not over." said the bug user.

He was right; as the flames died down, he noticed the figures of their attackers standing upright. The wind blew and rookies were finally able to see clearly that the shinobi were wearing some kind of armor.

"Is that… metal?" asked the blonde in disbelief.

For sole answer, the metallic polish shone eerily as the men advanced.

"What do want with us?" asked Shikamaru, kunai at hand.

This time, the leader answered. "None of your business!" and then whispered orders to his group. "Remember, we only want the blonde alive; kill the two others!"

The three young boys looked at each other and nodded: it was time. Without any other warning, they split up. On the opposing side, the group separated as well. Since capturing a target alive was always the hardest part, four shinobi went after Naruto while the remaining four went after his teammates in groups of two.

The duo going after Shikamaru suddenly came to a stop when they found the pineapple-haired boy waiting for them. They looked at each other warily and decided to take the boy from the sides. Their synchronism was almost perfect; too bad it was too dark to notice the shadow the chuunin had laid around him. The three of them skidded to a halt.

"Shadow Biding complete."

Without giving them time to realize in what kind of trouble they were in, Shikamaru made a couple of hand seals.

"Shadow Gathering Technique."

The shadows stretched from his foes and came to him in order to grab the exploding tags he had taken out. The shadows then returned to the two armored shinobi and placed the tags on their chests.

"Checkmate." he said calmly. "Surrender?"

The other two looked at each other. "Never!"

He shrugged. "Suit yourselves." The tags detonated. He had to hand it to his opponents, though, theses armors were made of sturdy stuff; even explosives were only able to knock them out.

As for Shino, he had been underestimated and that cost his attackers dearly. It was surprisingly easy to let insects creep in the night unnoticed. Those men could be heavily armored; they still needed to breath. He grinned, it was kind of fun watching them freak out as his destructions bugs filled their nostrils. At least they had the quick thinking to take of their armor… which made them ripe for the picking, taijutsu style.

When the two of them rejoined Naruto, he still had a foe to take care of. The guy was frozen stiff though.

"That kid…? Is he a monster?"

Shikamaru was hard pressed to argue that statement when looked around. He whistled appreciatively. To his right were two of the shinobi, huge dent where Naruto had connected with his reinforced limbs; in front of him the third assailant was covering a deep looking wound: he would need medical attention. When he looked at Naruto, he saw the faint glow on his kunai telling him he was using a special one.

The leader, seeing the clear disadvantage, stepped back. "R-retreat!"

"Sorry, there's only you left;" the chuunin told him. "You might want to surrender."

For sole answer, the armored shinobi threw down a smoke bomb and vanished.

"Shall we go after him?" asked Shino.

"No. We have all these guys to take care of." Shikamaru quickly looked around. "You tie up the ones who aren't too injured; I'll take care of this one." He announced pointing at the man still losing blood.

He took out his pack and sighed.

_Well, I can clearly see we're off to a wonderful start._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The shinobi who led the earlier attack arrived at the temporary HQ of his band.

"Sorry boss, we failed." He said, kneeling as he entered the camp.

The 'boss', a man in his thirties ruffled through his dark brown hair and waited for his subordinate's report before making any comment. Once that was done he snorted.

"You guys went on ahead without orders; of course you would fail." His henchman flinched. The man sighed. "At least now we have a better idea of our opposition. I must admit they're certainly more powerful than anticipated, but the plan won't have to change if that's all they have. Hopefully that other team won't be as much as a bother."

"Your orders, boss?" said a woman.

"Keep an eye on them for now. And tell Hideyoshi to bring the rest of the clan. We want to be able to strike as soon as we have a chance."

"Yes sir!" and the woman vanished.

The man looked at the fire and his gaze hardened. _Konoha… we will have our revenge._

"As for you," he said, taking a staff, "you disobeyed and lost men; something we're a bit short on. I hope you realize this will have consequences?"

The man gulped for sole answer.

"Good." said the man, as he played with his weapon. "Now choose which part of your body you'll lose…"

Meanwhile, in the depths of Konoha, a man was waiting for a report. It arrived in the form of a young shinobi with an expressionless face.

"I gather things are going well?" asked the man

"Yes sir; everything is going according to plan."

The man smiled mildly. "Good: Keep me informed."

The young man vanished as suddenly as he appeared while the man walked towards the Hokage tower.

"Sorry Genta, but I can make plans too."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto's group had spent the night keeping watch over their many prisoners, and after making sure they were unable to escape, left with the shinobi Shikamaru had treated; it was only to have someone to interrogate in case the remaining enemy returned to free his comrades.

Naruto closed the last of the books his friends had suggested to read: now that a day had passed after his little misconduct, and that he had done his homework, there was no way for the chuunin to refuse him training. He was looking forward to it, yet he currently had something else in mind.

"Hey, Shikamaru," said Naruto, "what were you trying to do with Kakashi last time?"

The chuunin raised an eyebrow and looked at the bug user; he wanted to be sure they wouldn't be interrupted. "Shino?" he asked.

"Everything's clear." said the genin, guessing his thoughts. He came closer, a bit curious about the conversation himself.

"So?" pressed Naruto

Shikamaru nonchalantly scratched his head. "You mean the chidori, right? I was trying to figure something out."

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "…and?"

"I think I did." He replied, stating the obvious. How he could make a straight face after messing with Naruto this much was a miracle.

This was all it took to make Naruto explode. "Damn it, Shikamaru! Stop being such a bastard and tell me already!"

"I admit I am quite curious about what you found out as well." said a voice, interrupting the whole debacle.

Shocked, Shino snapped his head towards the voice. "Kakashi?" he spluttered, recognizing the jounin.

The chuunin shrugged and he put his hands in his pockets "Not being followed, huh?"

"Impossible." mumbled the bug user, still trying to find an explanation.

The experienced jounin smiled. "Au contraire, very possible: I just know who I'm dealing with…" he then looked at Shikamaru "though it seems someone knew I was coming."

The young Nara raised a bored eyebrow, joining in on the other boys' confusion. "What are you talking about, Kakashi?"

The Jounin waved his hand dismissively. He'd deal with one thing at a time, and right now it was Shikamaru idea involving the chidori that had him curious.

"Wait… where's Sasuke?" asked Naruto apprehensively.

Both Kakashi and Shikamaru frowned imperceptivity. "I left back at our inn." answered the famous ninja. He gave Shikamaru a meaningful look. "So… Shikamaru? You were telling us you had figured something out?"

The chuunin sighed; the next moments would be a pain in the ass. "Troublesome. I guess I might show it to you now." He took a deep breath and went through a few hand signs before adding. "Watch carefully, I can only do this once a day."

Shikamaru went through a dozen of hand seals at rapid speed. When he was done, he clutched his right hand with his left and started gathering chakra. Everyone was silent. There was a tense moment, and suddenly there was a deafening roar; it was like suddenly a whole forest had ignited, yet this was nothing compared to the surprise of seeing Shikamaru's hand caught on fire. It took a few more moments for the form to stabilize, but what a form that was! The chuunin's hand couldn't be seen anymore; only a bright, somewhat red, somewhat white, scorching flame.

"That's—" Kakashi said, not sure what to call it.

"Fire chidori?" breathed out Naruto.

_Well I'll be…_ thought the jounin, _the boy actually did it!_

Shikamaru let the gathered chakra disperse. "Well, that's the gist of it." he said, and added "For now, let's call it Fire Palm."

"So… you made a Fire Palm out of the chidori." Asked Naruto, then his face lit up. "Does this mean you can do…?"

"…a wind version of the technique? 'Course I can!" he replied, almost insulted. "Why do think I _learned_ the damn thing?" Shikamaru frowned when he saw his bright smile. "One condition though."

"Whatever you want, man!" said the grateful genin.

_Oh yeah… definitely a pain_. He gave Shino a look. The shinobi nodded and stepped back.

"When this mission's over, you'll have to come clean with your teammates."

Naruto froze. His smile waned. "Shikamaru? What are you—"

"Don't." the chuunin rose his hand. He looked more tired as the genin fumbled on his words. "Naruto, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"And you want me to apologize to them?" he snapped, suddenly angry. "For what? Ignoring me and trying to kill me?"

But Shikamaru shook his head. "Who said anything about apologies? I want you to tell them the truth."

"Like they really care about the truth!" he yelled.

Okay; _now_ he was angry. Shikamaru knew, because contrary to what he had earlier believed, Naruto _could_ be louder than his normal self, which was kind of scary. He looked at Kakashi while Naruto wasn't looking; a bit of support could be appreciated. Unfortunately, Kakashi was more interested in his book. He'd get him later for this.

"This isn't about them, Naruto." he tried to explain.

"It… isn't?" Naruto's temper temporarily subsided.

"Think about it: who's hurting the most from all this?" he asked.

The blonde thought about it and expression became unsure. Was his team actually hurt about his attitude? Of course they weren't; that was the whole idea. So the only one left for worse… Maybe Shikamaru had a point. But it was enough to be hurting – and they hurt him – he didn't want to give pain back. That thought had him want to slap himself silly.

Naruto was struggling, Shikamaru could see that. Time to hammer the point in. "If you think that's not enough, let me be perfectly clear: I will never acknowledge an Hokage that lies to himself.

His eyes grew wide; he felt like he had just been slapped. "I…" he felt betrayed. How could he side with them! Why now? Like he knew any better; he didn't have the whole village against him! "Screw you, Shikamaru!" And just like that Naruto left.

Shikamaru didn't move or try to go after him. He knew the genin needed time to think things through. Knowing you were wrong was one thing, being told you were… is never well received. He just had to think about his father; though his dad could be a jerk sometimes. Naruto would come around: he could count on his teammate to see what the right thing to do was.

Still…

"Troublesome." he said.

Kakashi took this opportunity to pocket his book. "Well that certainly went well." he said, a bit concerned.

"Somebody had to tell him, right Kakashi?" he said, giving him a pointed look.

The jounin sweated. "Ah ha, ha… I'm sorry?"

Shino came back, looked around, and gave his temporary superior a look of askance.

"Kakashi and I made a deal:" he explained, "he showed me how the chidori worked and I tried talking sense into that idiot."

Judging by the scowl on his face, he figured he didn't go as well as the chuunin wanted. "You got cheated." He concluded.

The jounin was definitely uncomfortable now.

It took about an hour or two for Naruto to digest what Shikamaru had told him. That he wouldn't acknowledge him as an Hokage, was what infuriated him. _How could he?_ He asked himself as he wasted everything around him. Shikamaru knew that was his soft spot; knew it. He didn't have to say it like that, however he did; why? He tried thinking back to the situation back home. The fact that he didn't want to go back anytime soon was telling.

He shifted his focus to a grander scale and felt a bit ashamed: was this the way he was going to work with his village? Wearing a mask, pretending things were all fine until it actually was, even though that might never happen? He had to admit what drew him to the Third, was the fact the he was genuine. The more he looked at it, the more he felt he had handled the situation wrong. Still, Shikamaru didn't have to be such a jerk. Then again, it was Shikamaru: that guy liked to be direct when he could. Feeling like he had vented enough frustration, he went back to his team with an unreadable expression.

"You sure you can teach me the wind Chidori?" he finally asked his friend.

"I wouldn't call it that, but yes, I can teach you the basics." The chuunin answered confidently.

Naruto found no sign of laziness or smugness in that tone. Damn that lazy bastard! He wanted an excuse to lash out on him. "It better be worth it!" he muttered.

"It's not too late to switch teams," carefully suggested the chuunin, "I'm sure Kakashi wouldn't mind."

Naruto looked at the jounin, who nodded "Yeah, it can be arranged." Kakashi added.

"Training starts tomorrow." Naruto stated. The rest of that day was spent in silence.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

In the mean time, Kakashi had been informed of the ambush. He left with the prisoner and promised to take care of the others. He came back two days later; just in time to see Naruto's latest achievement. It took a full day and fifty clones, but he was finally able to transform the elemental chakra into a physical shape.

"I can't believe it!" yelled an exited blonde as his hand was engulfed in a tornado.

_**I**__ can't believe it_, thought his mentor. _I knew Asuma said he was a genius, but to use the basics of the chidori and translate it to another element…_

"Let's test this baby out!" said Naruto, looking for the first victim of his ultimate technique.

Shikamaru's eyes grew wide. "Wait Naruto! Don't—"

But the boy had already his eyes on a nearby oak and rushed into it. He punched the tree with all his might… and let a howl of pain as a result.

Kakashi and Shino looked at each other and rushed to Naruto while Shikamaru slapped his forehead. When the three arrived, the Jinchuuriki was clutching his bruised hand.

"Are you… Ok?" asked Shino.

"Can't… talk… Pain!" he replied while giving Shikamaru a furious glare.

The chuunin looked at the injured hand and winced. "Damn it, I knew I forgot something."

"That's… not… chidori!" he sneered at intervals.

"No, it's not." He admitted. "The chidori is a lightning technique: _Lightning_ Edge, remember? They're different elements: they have different properties."

"Wind… cuts." Remembered the blonde.

"Good." said Kakashi this time, happy to see his pupil had learned a good deal during his last mission. "Lightning pierces." he continued. "When using lightning based jutsu, the user usually relies on speed as well as piercing power." He marked a pause in order to let Naruto, and Shino, who also looked interested by the topic, absorb this new info. "For wind, it should be cutting power dealt by a sweeping or circular motion."

"A circular blow?" said Naruto, who had finally regained the use of fluent speech. "I don't know a punch like that."

"I do." affirmed Shikamaru. "Asuma's taijutsu is based on a style that only uses fists in order to attack and defend: 'goes well with his trench knives. I assure you, there is one. And it just so appears it's one of the strongest punches there is, too."

This got a wolfish grin from Naruto, despite the anger or the pain.

Kakashi felt that he had seen enough. "I'll leave this in your capable hands, then. What are you up against?" he asked out of curiosity.

"My guess?" mused Shikamaru, "The sand trio we faced earlier."

The jounin raised an eyebrow. "Oh my!" he looked concerned. "Are you guys going to be OK?"

Shino shrugged. "Probably: we have an ANBU with us."

His eye narrowed. "ANBU?"

"Yeah, her name's Yugao." Said Naruto.

Kakashi went wide eyed, and whistled. "Oh boy!" he said, half amused, half worried. "Genta must really hate you."

The boys looked at each other. Naruto's smiled simply broke; Shino was making buzzing sounds and Shikamaru was sweating. "What do you mean?" he asked voice uneven.

"That ANBU? Her boyfriend got killed by Baki; the captain of that team." He announced.

The team took it pretty well, considering they had just learned they had been pretty much set up to be killed, let alone fail the mission. The jounin picked that as cue to leave the team and let them handle the problem. Shikamaru slapped his forehead, while commenting colorfully on Genta's methods, while Naruto was still in shock. As for the last member, he stepped away again.

"Shino?" asked Naruto, finally snapping out of it, "Where are you going?"

"Sending a will to my family." said the bug user. "After that I'm going to train."

"Be careful."

When he was sure that their friend – and his bugs – was out of earshot, Shikamaru directed his attention at Naruto, who was probably trying to figure out how he was going to use the technique in the first place.

"Now's the time to tell you something Team Oblivion related." His friend immediately perked up. He continued. "What I just gave you right now is much more than a 'wind version of the chidori.'"

Naruto's face lit up. "Really?" he asked.

Shikamaru chose his words carefully. "It's like… a foundation of sorts."

"A foundation…?" The boy knew what a foundation was, but how could a full-fledged technique be considered the base? "So it's really not like the chidori?"

The chuunin tried again. "What I mean is, given enough time and imagination; you could come up with almost any number of wind jutsu between this and the breakthrough techniques: guess what the two things you definitely have are."

Suddenly, every started to make sense. His eyes shot up. "So you're saying all the books I've been reading…"

"…Were to give a base on what you could and couldn't do." he finished. "Like I said, I gave you a foundation; once you know what you want to do, I'll help you come up with the necessary seals."

"Sounds like a plan." said Naruto, already unable to wait trying out a few things. "What are you going to be doing?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Heh, you'll see…"

From that point on, the team decided to train as much as possible. That left them with a week or so of training if they wanted to arrive in the Mountain Village on the meeting day. Fortunately, despite their slight worry, the rest of the travel went quite smoothly.

During that time, a typical day consisted of the three of them getting up and immediately separating in order to hone their skills. Naruto would summon about a hundred or so clones, and separated them into three groups, each one responsible of developing a new technique. The rest of the day he would he train his taijutsu and chakra control, or seek out Shikamaru in order to learn that elusive "circular punch", he had talked about.

Shino had a bit of trouble find what he wanted to train in the first place, but since the mastery of his bugs wasn't quite complete yet, he focused on that as well as taijutsu. He would also spy on the others' training when his curiosity had the better of him, which was seldom. Weirdly enough, he hadn't been able to even glimpse at the Nara training even once. It seemed Kakashi was right and he could detect presences one way or another.

Shikamaru had tried helping Naruto with his jutsu creation; however he could clearly see he wasn't suited to help Naruto make his own jutsu, so their project stalled. In the mean time, the young Nara had made a rather interesting discovery and was trying to figure a use for it. When he wasn't, he furthered his study of seals and worked on the "homework" his father had given him.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Finally the fated day came. The trio was a bit behind schedule and so rushed to the gates of town and arrived a good while after sunrise. This town was one of the liveliest the rookies had seen. There were people everywhere and shops everywhere. The more critical Shikamaru and Shino could spot many shinobi of different country moving freely about and even armor clad warriors the two were sure to have never seen before. The village's size could easily rival that of Konoha.

"Well we're here: place doesn't look to shabby." he said, summarizing the situation to himself.

"Good: you came."

The boys stiffened when they heard the voice of their commanding officer as she came out from behind them. It was one thing spotting a threat in a desolated area; the task was quite something else when you had to factor in a sea of people moving about.

"I was under the impression I would have to hunt you down." she mused semi-seriously. "So, anything came up during your little vacation?" she asked casually.

"Everything's fine." answered Shikamaru, who felt the gaze behind the porcelain mask targeting him.

She looked at him for a while longer before answering. "Good. Then all that's left is for us to meet with the shinobi of the other hidden village. Let's hope it's the Sand."

The teenagers froze at that statement. The three of them remembered what Kakashi had told them about Yugao.

"Let's hope not." muttered Shikamaru.

"The meeting place is the hotel in the central part of town." she informed them. "I'll meet you there later: I have business to settle."

The ANBU vanished, leaving the boys alone to meet their future allies. The walk to the hotel was a morose one. Prepared as they wanted to be, facing the sand wasn't something to look for. The time spent in the hotel looking for the meeting room was even more nerve racking. Finally, they arrived at the door.

"Are you guys ready?" asked Shikamaru.

The other two nodded. The chuunin took a deep breath and opened the door… only to close it just as swiftly. The team huddled together. They were talking fast, often interrupting each other yet strangely complemented them as well

"Kankuro …" "he was playing with his puppet…" "He had his make up on, right?" "Doesn't that mean…?" "He's looking for a fight? Probable." "That girl…" "…was only looking at you." "She had her fan out…" "She looked angry." "Yup… I think she noticed the vest…" "You're dead." "Troublesome." "Gaara…" "…was smiling? Yes he was." "This is bad…" "He's going to kill us…" "He only smiles when he goes psycho." "And their captain his there, too…" "We're at a disadvantage…" "This calls for…" "…a strategic retreat?" "Running away sounds good: let's get out of here."

Coming to a decision, they calmly, but rapidly walked in the opposite direction... that is, until they had just turned the corner and heard the door fly against the wall behind them.

"NARA!"

The said Nara gulped. "Let's not linger here, shall we?"

Taking this as cue to get the hell away from here, the boys shifted into a full sprint… only to run into Yugao. They screeched to a halt right in front of the woman, who at the moment looked quite ominous.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" she asked coolly.

Naruto gulped and tried to come up with something. "Uh—"

"Get your asses back inside." she barked, not seeing, or feinting not to see the look of pure fear the others had given her.

"But—"

"Refusal to obey will be considered treason. And you all know what the shinobi world does to deserters."

Shikamaru, Naruto, Shino, all looked at her in disbelief. They couldn't quite figure out why, but she was clearly having fun.

"Sadist." said Shino.

"Jerk." added Naruto.

"Troublesome woman." said Shikamaru as if this was the worse insult he could come up with.

The ANBU smiled, their remarks sounding like music to her ears.

It was about that time Temari stormed into the group. Strangely, none of the three boys were afraid of her anymore: Yugao's argument had been quite convincing. Not knowing about their sudden change of heart, she smiled savagely when her prey came in to view.

"Nara! When I get my—"

"You'll do what, kid?" said the ANBU, stopping the kunoichi in her tracks. "Break the temporary alliance? Give me clearance to get rid of you? Come on, make my day."

Temari wasn't stupid; she only had a chance against the group that arguably had defeated them… much less three-on-one. She knew she had absolutely no chance against a black ops member. She looked at Shikamaru: his expression was perfectly neutral. It pissed her off for absolutely no reason. She sneered at him and went back to her room.

Shikamaru blinked. "Damn it! It's not my fault!" he let out exasperated.

"What can I say? You're a real lady's man, Nara." commented, the ANBU.

The chuunin grumbled, but still remained in high alert. He gave a look to his partners; they both responded imperceptibly. The group slowly made its way back to the meeting room.

"See," she said, looking at them. "It wasn't that hard, now was—" She froze when she saw her homologue. She would recognize his face anywhere; it was the face that haunted her dreams.

"You…!"

She drew her sword. As she rushed towards Baki she was stopped by a triple dose of Shadow Binding, Shadow clones and Pupa insects. The Sand instructor, who had remained motionless, smirked deviously.

"Are all… Konoha ANBU like that?" he asked sarcastically."

Shikamaru looked at him, and then at Yugao, who from her expression was promising them painful retribution later. He was looking at Gaara, who was trying to hide a smile and Kankuro who was sneering and prepared his puppets. He didn't bother to look at Temari; he already knew what she'd look like.

Having perfectly analyzed the situation he came to a clear conclusion.

_We're all gonna die, aren't we?_

_**Meeting the enemy! Will they survive their encounter?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: ****No Beta reader -_-' sorry about that. Anyways, New Chapter! I've also published an Avatar fanfic if you're interested.**

**Also, I've updated chapter 1. Many thanks to The Laughing Phoenix.**

***Note: I know the speech clusterf**ck is hard to figure out (yet strangely coherent). I'm not telling you who said what; try to find out by yourselves. Cybercookies and cybercakes for the ones who can.**

**R&R**

Rev: drop the comments, they suck!

**Rep: How mean! Well, actually, they weren't meant to be the best thing ever as well. I'm having a blast thinking them up though, they're bolded and totally unrelated to the story. Don't like 'em? Skip 'em.**

Rev: Naru/Hina! *shakes fist*

**Rep: I this is a Naru/Hina fic… on the sideline. Mainly, it's a Naru/Shika friendship adventure fic. I ****won't**** have romance take the frontend of my fic, don't worry about it. But I have to give the guy a break. From what I can see, Kishi seems to want to pair him to Sakura. Can you believe that?**

Rev: Seals…

**Rep: for now, Shikamaru's focusing on hand signs and basic seals. I found it weird nobody else in the cast studied them considering the cool stuff you can do with it.**


	27. Diplomacy

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **KeiGinya **and** Shoguo**

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**27. Peacemakers: Diplomacy  
**

**_Will Team Oblivion survive their first diplomatic meeting?_**

If Shikamaru hated anything, it would be uncertainty. For this reason he liked plans, or at least knowing where he was headed. Unfortunately, as of now, he had absolutely no idea what would happen at this meeting; too many unknowns. His father had taught him how to defuse a situation between politicians – it was easy really; they listened to reason, or profit, which in a sense was just as good – but even if he had learned to handle shinobi, how was he supposed to fix the monstrous screw up his commanding officer had just made? And the real meetings hadn't even started yet!

The chuunin glared at Yugao and figured she was glaring right back. Hard to tell with the damn mask; you'd think she'd at least take it off for the occasion. At least she looked calmer. He mentally sighed thinking this really wasn't his day. Really, that ANBU could have let them run away from the start if she was going to cause such a big problem. Still he focused on the task at hand: if they wanted to at least make it through the first day, they had to talk. He had no doubt Baki would be the Sand's voice during this little discussion. That only left finding the one who'd represent them. Shino never talked. Naruto would probably make things worse before they got better, which they couldn't afford. He looked at Yugao. Yeah… he would have to do.

He silently prayed and cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess we should get things started: we're here to make sure everything goes smoothly."

Baki raised an eyebrow, slightly amused. "Smoothly?"

Shikamaru sighed. Of course, it was stupid of him to hope Baki would even think about letting things slide. Maybe getting that issue out of the way was the best manner to prove their good intentions to the Sand team; seems Baki was the type to rub it in during the rest of the mission though.

"I apologize for my superior's behavior, but she had her reasons," he said. "I promise that won't happen again."

Baki was surprised. Shinobi rarely admitted their faults to their opponents. The kid really wanted this truce… maybe as much as the Sand wanted it. Unfortunately, the rest of his team didn't seem to share his analysis of the situation.

"Really?" let out Kankuro. "And what guarantee do we have that this ANBU won't go psycho on us again, huh?"

Shino tried following his superior's example. "The ANBU is only after your Captain; knowing this, I think we can come to an arrangement and prevent another incident."

The puppet master snorted. "Heh, if it comes to that… you do realize that will mean your lives are forfeit, right?"

The Aburame twitched imperceptibly. They had admitted their wrongs and proposed to settle things peacefully; what more could the Sand team want? He mentally shrugged – maybe it was time to remind these arrogant shinobi who they were dealing with.

An eyebrow rose over Shino's shades. "Considering we were the ones that drove you out of Konoha and that we defeated you, I find that hard to believe."

Kankuro frowned. "If my memory serves me right, I left you for dead; the poison would have killed you."

"That's a funny thing to say for someone who couldn't move due to chakra depletion," retorted the other boy.

Some sort of limit must have been breached, because Kankuro bolted up, ready to attack. "Maybe you want to settle the score then, bug boy."

Shino showed he approved the idea by calmly rising up himself, to which Shikamaru frowned over. If things followed this road, someone might really end up dead. "Oi, stop it," he told his teammate.

"Who died and made you boss, Nara?" snapped Temari.

In his corner, Baki snickered while the chuunin rolled his eyes, ignoring Temari and trying to calm down his teammate. Now that he didn't have Orochimaru breathing down his neck and Gaara was starting to behave, he would be able to relax more and have a bit of fun at Konoha's expense. He didn't know who she was nor what he had done to her, but he knew fun when he saw it.

"Don't worry," said the purple haired kunoichi. "I'll wipe that smile off your face soon enough."

Oh yes; there was definitely fun to be had.

Naruto blinked. Things were going south pretty fast. Then again, he had expected to be fighting for his life about now. From the look of things, only he and Shikamaru remembered they actually had a mission in progress. On the other side, Gaara wasn't doing anything… besides glancing in his direction every so often; so neutral, he guessed. Baki looked like he was having way too much fun to be of any help. So the outcome of the situation pretty much rested on his awesomeness.

Indecision stopped him for a moment; what came out of his mouth could very well be the catalyst to another war… on the other side they were doing a fine job of doing that by themselves. Remembering what was the cost of the last, albeit short, battle between hidden villages, Naruto made up his mind.

"Shut up!" he yelled, gaining their attention. "This is getting nowhere. Now's not the time for stupid fights."

Shino looked at Naruto, and then at Shikamaru who was giving him a disapproving look. He nodded and reluctantly backed off.

Kankuro, already pissed, directed his aggression on the blond genin now that his opponent had calmed down. "Oh? Why don't you come and make me—"

"Kankuro, shut up."

The puppeteer froze. "Gaara?"

Shikamaru noticed not without interest that it wasn't fear he saw on the puppet user's face… at least, not so much as it was surprise.

"Naruto's right; now's not the time to fight."

The chuunin looked from one Jinchuuriki to the other, grateful. "Well, at least a few of us still have heads on their shoulders," he happily noted.

Maybe there was hope for this mission after all. Still, many things needed to be done in order to turn this suicide mission into a truce: the first being taking care of the young people. Experience told him that neither Baki nor Yugao would listen to reason – Baki, because he was the enemy, and Yugao because of Baki. On the other hand, he knew for a fact that Gaara practically ordered his siblings around, so convincing them to settle down looked plausible. Very likely even, considering what he had just witnessed.

"As things are right now, the discussions will fail," he eyed all of them as he continued, "I propose we try to learn not to jump at each others' throat for the three remaining days before someone actually dies. And if we really can't stand each other, we'll call off the meeting. My job was to protect our diplomat from outside threats and I won't be held responsible for another war."

Kankuro's face became blank. Baki stopped smiling. Gaara looked in the chuunin's direction. Even Yugao didn't look so furious. The only one whose animosity hadn't subsided was Temari.

"Oh! You acting all high and mighty, now?" she taunted. "Seems that vest has gone to your head."

Shikamaru had a spiffy retort ready, but Naruto cut him off to talk to the giant fan user himself.

"Listen," he hissed, "a while ago a great man died and all he ever wanted was the peace and happiness of his village." He lowered his head, a bit sad, but he quickly turned that expression into a fierce stare in her direction, "I respected that man and his dreams and I still do. Konoha's fate is at stake here: I'll stomp over anyone who gets in my way." Then he turned his gaze toward his leader. "Even if that person is on my team," he added.

As he said those last words, his irises turned orange and his pupils contracted into vertical slits. And suddenly, the Sand Siblings were reminded there was in fact _another_ demon container in their midst. This one had beaten Gaara at his worst, too. Baki, behind his still neutral expression, tensed ever so slightly. Fortunately, the container of the One Tail spoke in their stead.

"We will work together," he announced as if he was the captain of his team. "Unless there's someone here who thinks otherwise," he asked as he swept his side of the room. As expected of the rest of the Sand Team, not one of them tried to argue otherwise.

_Well, well, looks like this mission has gotten very interesting,_ thought Shikamaru.

After that, the two parties settled to meet in an hour to plan a schedule for the next few days.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru smiled as his team left the room. That their counterparts from the Wind Country were willing to cooperate was far more than he had expected, especially coming from the One Tail Jinchuuriki. As for Shino, though he did not approve of the verbal jabs, he couldn't fault his teammate; Kankuro had been asking for it. The highlight of the day however, was Naruto. The blond genin had decided to interfere at the right time. Intentional or not, that anger and eye-thingy had the right dose of threat to put the more aggressive people back to their place. Congratulations were in order.

"Smooth talking there, Naruto," he told him.

The genin happily scratched his head. "Ah thanks, Shikamaru. That was—"

But the words died in his mouth as the atmosphere around the three rookies became heavy all of a sudden. Shikamaru turned around and cringed; there was Yugao, the porcelain on her face giving the ANBU an even more frightening expression. He had totally forgotten about her. No doubt she was mad at them for their interference; nevermind the fact that it could have been considered insubordination. _She didn't even wait until we left the building_, he thought bitterly.

"You three…" she started, venom hidden under the calm of voice, "When I'm done with you, you'll—"

"I propose Shikamaru to be the team captain," Shino said calmly, effectively cutting her off.

Yugao stiffened, but said nothing. Shikamaru whirled around to look at Shino like he was insane, which was pretty much the only thing that could have made him say such a crazy thing. He looked to Naruto. The blond was as confused as he was, but recovered faster. He smiled as he said, "I agree."

Maybe he was the one going crazy. Behind him Yugao was trembling as she tried her best to keep her arms by her waist.

"You," she said, barely controlling her temper, "Do you realize what you're saying?"

_Yeah, _thought Shikamaru_, definitely. Maybe Naruto didn't, but Shino sure did_. The genius scowled, he was in the hot spot, so to speak. Blowing off the captain could prove itself quite disastrous, in short and long term, yet he couldn't deny that her actions could have prompted such a measure if her team consisted of people of equal rank. Besides, gaining Yugao's favor – was that even possible? – couldn't be compared to the support of his teammates. He frowned as he made his mind.

"I refuse," he said, to the surprise of the other two.

"Of course you do," coldly stated the ANBU, "Do you have any idea of the implications of such—"

"I'm not finished," he snapped back, shutting her up once again. "I refuse _this time_. Next time you attempt to take the life of any of our Sand contacts without motive we'll have you step down."

Yugao relaxed. "I'd like to see you try," she said with a hint of amusement.

Shikamaru wondered if that woman actually knew how much trouble she had gotten herself into. Maybe she thought he was bluffing. Oh well, he liked being underestimated; it made things easier for him. His expression remained neutral as he answered her provocation.

"It's easier than you think, really," he replied. "You'll either do it voluntarily, or we'll just abort the mission. I'm sure the mission report we'll write will be quite entertaining."

The ANBU stood her ground, unaffected. "It's your words against mine, brat," she retorted confidently.

Shikamaru released his trump card with a smug grin. "Really? I think you forgot about our dear friends from the Sand."

There was a moment of silence during which the chuunin couldn't tell if Yugao had taken the threat seriously, or if she was getting ready to skewer him. Maybe he should get a porcelain mask for himself one of these days; instant poker face. In any case, the tensed silence endured for another minute.

"You opportunistic bastard!" she finally snapped, to the great relief of the young Nara.

"So what if I am?" he talked back, feigning nonchalance, "I'll do what it takes to accomplish this mission."

"Traitor…" she said as she restrained herself again.

Shikamaru mentally winced. He knew it was quite underhanded of him using Team Sand against her like that, but he had no choice. Yugao would just have to get over her grudge.

"You're not yourself," he explained, trying to appease her.

"Care to tell me how?" she said as if to say, 'You don't even know me!'

"You were stopped by _us,_" boasted Naruto, making her mask glare him into silence.

Shikamaru shook his head. "What Naruto was trying to say is that you're not acting like an ANBU." That got her attention. "You should be focusing on the mission, but instead you attacked our liaison for absolutely no reason."

Those words felt like a slap to the kunoichi. "No reason? _Him_?" she asked incredulously. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Let's hear it then," challenged the chuunin, "your reasons, I mean."

He knew she wouldn't voice her reasons. Shinobi shouldn't let their emotions cloud their judgment and she had done exactly that. He just hoped she realized it as well. She shook her head after a moment, admitting her loss.

"Forget it."

The victory left a bitter taste in Shikamaru's mind. He thought the mission would be spent fighting against the Sand, not amongst them. Yet he had gotten into an argument with Naruto and now their boss; some team cohesion _that_ was. He felt tired. And scared: he didn't forget he had just riled up an ANBU. He tried reasoning with her again.

"Look: right now, you're not acting like yourself. The sensible thing to do was to relieve you of your functions; please don't make us regret our decision," he felt her murderous gaze bore through him like she wasn't wearing her mask, "All we're asking is to stay out of the way; you don't even have to be there."

The kunoichi said nothing and disappeared. Shikamaru let out a breath and leaned against the wall.

"Shino, when we go back to Konoha, remind me to kill you. Twice."

He could practically see the bug user smirk behind his coat.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

It took all of the remaining time for the Leaf-nin to get over the impromptu team meeting; Shikamaru had stopped cursing Shino, and the bug user stopped giving him amused looks every three seconds. By the time they arrived at the meeting spot, the little details of their stay had been taken care of. The Hidden Leaf soldiers found their Sand counterparts waiting for them in front of the hotel they had met an hour prior. They were slightly surprised to notice Yugao suddenly appear behind them, as if she had been there all along.

Naruto felt like her presence meant trouble and prepared for the worst, but even from her posture, the kunoichi behind him seemed more… ANBU like than before. Everything about her screamed a professional, emotionless attitude. Maybe Shikamaru's little talk had the desired effects.

Baki greeted them with a smile.

"I hope things won't start with another attempt in my life," he let out playfully.

"Go to hell Baki," said Yugao in a professional, emotionless tone.

_Well it's a start, I guess_, thought the genin, not blaming that outburst the slightest. Shikamaru was quick to change the subject.

"The area still needs to be protected; I propose we let Yugao handle that."

The young woman said nothing. Naruto figured this was the closest they'd get to an agreement.

"I can help," offered Baki.

"Don't even think about it!" said the blond as he and the rest of the Leaf shinobi glared at him. Just how far was that jerk going to go?

Baki gave them a smug look.

"Baki, if you're responsible for the failure of this mission, I will kill you," said the cold voice of Gaara. And just like that, it was the Leaf's turn to look smug.

The soldier shrugged, "…of course, Gaara. I'll make sure our negotiator arrives in good time then." A moment later and he was gone. Same happened for Team Leaf's Captain.

"As for us…" said Shikamaru as he took a good look over the rest of the shinobi gathered, "anybody have a suggestion on how we're going to get along?" he asked.

Kankuro, who didn't like the sound of that, voiced his opinion. "What are you talking about? We'll just tough it out; we're all shinobi here," he countered.

"Yeah, and you did that marvelously with Shino earlier," replied out the shadow user.

"Smartass," mumbled the disgruntled puppet master.

Gaara stepped forward. "I propose we split off in pairs of two; a Leaf shinobi, with a Sand one."

The Leaf rookies looked at each other and nodded after a moment. They had already planned an emergency procedure while coming here. Besides, trap or not, they had to show the other party good faith, if only to successfully complete the mission. "Fine with me," finally voiced the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki.

"I choose Naruto."

Naruto couldn't say he was surprised by Gaara's pick, nor by the eagerness hidden under his tone; his eyes had barely left Naruto ever since he arrived. Still he was a bit nervous; he hadn't forgotten the chuunin exams. It would feel weird pairing up with someone who had tried to kill you months ago; then he remembered Team Seven.

He'd be fine.

Surprisingly, Shikamaru was second to make an offer. "In that case, I'll pair up with Kankuro."

Said Sand shinobi didn't seem to mind, but a glare from his sister quickly changed his opinion. "S-sorry, hum… Shino, right? How about we go along? You know? To make up?"

The young Nara let out an incomprehensible sound and slumped as Temari grinned victoriously.

Naruto winced. This situation was probably an eleven on Shikamaru's one-to-ten 'troublesome scale'. He spared him a sympathetic smile before leaving with his partner.

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"So… what do you want to do?" he asked after convincing himself for the hundredth time that his nightmare was real.

Temari crossed her arms. "I want a rematch," the kunoichi nearly ordered.

"Great."

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead. He knew this couldn't end well. He wondered if she remembered they were supposed to get along. And why was she requesting a rematch? She had won the damn thing! He clearly remembered giving up due to a lack of chakra. Why was he stuck with the only one of the Sand siblings who still wanted to fight?

The Nara heir tried against all logic to reason with her. "Look. I understand you don't want to work with me. I get that." He scratched his head, trying to come up with a proposition. "We could just… I dunno… you do your own thing and I do mine?"

Temari frowned. "You're the one who proposed we work together!"

"Nope; Gaara did," he replied. "Besides, you're calling a fight 'working together'?"

She shrugged. "Whatever; I want a rematch!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Apparently there was no way to make her see things his way. "I'm not going to fight you," he firmly stated.

Her tone became cold. "I wasn't asking."

"We're not supposed to kill each other!" he snapped.

"We won't," assured Temari.

_Right, like I could ever believe that_, he thought. The chuunin unconsciously returned to his previous concern. "Why the hell would you want a rematch, anyway? You won that fight!"

And, somehow, that was the wrong thing to say. Judging from the glare she was giving him, Temari had switched from wanting a normal fight to an outright death match. At least, that's what it looked to him; he knew she'd never propose it, he also knew shinobi were good at causing 'accidents'. "Troublesome," he whispered. Even after a couple of seconds of reflection he couldn't see an outcome where he didn't end up in intensive care _at best_. Unfortunately, there was only one thing left to do: he caved.

"Ugh! Fine," he let out bitterly, "You'll really leave me alone if we have this stupid fight?"

The kunoichi grinned. "After I mop the floor with you? Sure," she answered, "You'll be free to sulk and whine wherever you want," she added.

"Fine. Let's do this."

Moments later they were seen leaving the Wheat village. The duo foundempty land not too far from the entrance and decided to settle the score there. Being a gentleman, Shikamaru let her give the start signal. She narrowed her eyes, but accepted the offer. After a tense exchange of stares, Temari gave the go ahead, and immediately the chuunin's hand shot up.

"I give up."

Temari blinked. She only managed to let out an incredulous, "_What?_" before she started to see red.

"I. Give. Up," repeated the young Nara. And if that wasn't enough, "I forfeit. You won. Satisfied?"

"Don't you dare…!"

But the teenage chuunin had already vanished; way too happy to use Temari's moment of shock against her. He was glad to find 'part one' of his plan had worked. Now, he only had to run for his dear life and hide for a couple of hours; couldn't be that hard.

…Right?

He was screwed.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Meanwhile, in the Wheat village downtown, Kankuro was trying to figure out how to pass the time with the bug freak. Mindful of the mission and of Gaara, the puppeteer decided to behave cordially with his one day companion.

"So… what do you want to do?" he asked Shino.

The bug user replied nothing, so he assumed the Konoha ninja was leaving him in charge of providing a suitable distraction for the both of them. Luckily, Kankuro spotted a group of charming young ladies on the other side of the street. He grinned; he had found just the thing.

He went back to his room and came back with a bag and without his war paint. Under that hood he looked like a normal, brown-haired teenager. His unpacked bag revealed a neat puppet show set-up.

"No strings?" asked the bug user after eyeing the equipment.

To which the puppeteer responded, "Puppets _and_ magic; there's no way people won't eat it up."

He was right.

"That's so cool!" squealed a small girl in front of the crowd. All around and behind her, murmurs of amazement filled her ears, confirming her statement. Kankuro smiled satisfied with his performance. He had practically mesmerized everyone present – not bad for his first show in town. But that was only the first part of his plan, for his real targets were the lovely ladies giggling near the jewel shop across the street. He did two more tricks and bowed to the audience.

After the round of applause, the child came closer to the Sand genin, no doubt a new fan of his.

"That was great mister!"

"Aw, thanks!" said the puppet master while he casually packed away his equipment. He took out one of the dolls he used in the show and offered it as present. "As thanks for enjoying the show."

She took the gift, giggled like mad and ran off. _Thank goodness_, thought the puppeteer, _I really can't handle brats_. Once everything was in his bag, he rubbed his hands, ready to unleash his dastardly plan on his poor unsuspecting victims. _And now for the prey,_ he told himself as he headed confidently for the group of young ladies. Drawing closer, the boy overheard them talking about his little tricks and smiled; It's like he had already won.

"You know, I could show you girls some more tricks if you like," he said in a cool manner.

The girls looked at each other and giggled, but didn't refuse his offer; that was a good sign. He introduced himself as a traveling performer and, a couple of minutes later, they were off to a 'good restaurant with outdoor tables' so he could show them some of his more complex stuff. Kankuro thought things were going well. Too well, actually – which is probably why Kankuro expected something to go wrong. He turned around to see Shino following them and nearly slapped himself. How could he have forgotten about him? Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Who's that creepy-looking guy?" asked one of the girls.

"Oh… he's with me," he said, clearing his throat. "He just doesn't like crowds."

Some of the girls misunderstood it as Shino being a bit shy and approached him. The bug user, however, froze and stepped back, which only served to entice the girls' curiosity. Kankuro was trying to find a good excuse to steer them out of the impending ruin of his plan, but to no avail.

"It would be wise not to get too close to me," Shino calmly warned.

The eldest of the group, a brunette, giggled.

"Eh? And why's…?"

She paused when she saw something moving behind Shino's coat. The other girls stopped smiling when they heard a barely audible buzzing sound. To top it all, a couple of small pupa bugs crawled out of Shino's hands. All of the girls recoiled in horror. One of them finally found the voice they all had lost and shrieked. It was like the signal they were all waiting for, since as soon as she did, they all fled.

"Hey, wait up!" tried the Sand shinobi, but they were already gone. He turned to his companion. "Why'd you have to do that?" he pleaded more than accused.

"Their perfumes were too strong for the bugs," he answered truthfully; "I did warn them," he reminded the other boy.

"…Right," admitted the puppet master. He was too disappointed by the failure of his plan to even get mad at Shino. "Let's do something else then," he offered tiredly.

Next time he'd take the shadow user on his offer, dangerous sister or not.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto and Gaara had simply walked around the village before going for the rooftops where people could stop staring at them. While they could blend in decently with their own teams, the two of them together stuck out like sore thumbs. Once they found a good spot from where they could at least enjoy the view with a railing they could lean on, a comfortable silence hung in the air.

The blond didn't mind; he had learned to enjoy times like these with his friends, but when he looked at the Sand Jinchuuriki, he saw a boy eagerly looking back. Gaara shifted his gaze almost instantly, but it was enough for Naruto to understand the red-haired shinobi wanted _him_ to initiate the conversation. The blond's eyebrows lowered in confusion; he had thought it would be the other way around since the boy next to him had been so eager to pick him in first place. The hyperactive genin shrugged; _guess I was wrong_.

He settled for something simple like "So… how are things?" he elaborated when his partner looked at him blankly. "How are you, you know? You, your team, the village…"

Gaara thought about it and looked on, "I'm… better, I think." He didn't look satisfied with the answer by the look of things, but that was enough for Naruto to know things were alright.

"Well that's good," said the cheeky Nine Tails host, "I was hoping I didn't kick your ass too hard last time."

Naruto had hoped to get out a smile from his homologue, but got a frown instead. He was thinking of apologizing – maybe Gaara hadn't gotten to the point where he could handle jokes about his defeat yet – when the sand user smiled his psycho 'you're going to die and I'll enjoy every second of it' smile, which made Naruto jump backward with a startled "Whoa!" His hand instinctively went to one of his chakra kunai, but he didn't draw it when he saw the disappointed look on Gaara's face.

"Didn't work," noted the genin dejectedly.

Naruto blinked, attempting to figure out what he was talking about. "What?"

"I was trying to smile," explained Gaara.

"Whoa…" he said understanding the other boy's idea. He then he let out another "Whoa!" when he actually realized the fruit of his training. "Definitely didn't work," he flatly said: "You looked like you'd pull out the demon inside any second."

Gaara frowned, and tried absorbing the information. He looked out again, a thoughtful expression on his face, before looking back to Naruto. "So?" he asked.

"…So?" repeated the blond cautiously.

"How do you do it then?"

Naruto was surprised by the question. You didn't _teach_ people how to smile; not a real one at least. He pitied his companion: he had spent so much time hating the world and senselessly killing he had even forgotten to do such a natural thing. He shrugged off the feeling and offered an encouraging smile instead: Gaara didn't need sympathy, he needed advice.

"You don't," Naruto tried explaining, "it just sort of happens." He made a sour face and shrugged, "You'll get it eventually."

Gaara didn't look like he enjoyed the answer but didn't push it. In fact, he looked like there was something else on his mind. Naruto didn't egg him on; the fact was, Gaara pushed him to reflect on his own situation. Looking back, he had been acting stupidly with Sasuke and Sakura. Here was another demon host like him, trying his best to get others to accept him – why else would he try to smile – and here he was trying to hide behind a mask. He felt like a coward.

He snapped out of his musing when Gaara spoke again.

"It's hard," stated the sand user.

Naruto wasn't sure they talking about smiles anymore, so he asked "What is?"

Gaara looked disappointed, "I changed. I know I did." He looked sure of it too. There was pained, confused expression on his face. "The village… didn't."

Naruto understood the feeling only too well, going through the same frustration. At least he didn't have the whole village against him; still, the situation left him so… angry.

"I think you're trying to see too far. Your brother and sister sure looked like they get the new you." The words made sense, but even to Naruto they sounded hollow.

"But—"

"Rah! Who gives a rat's ass about these people!" let out Naruto, suddenly angry, "If they don't get it then screw them!"

There was a pause during which Gaara simply stared and the blond genin sighed heavily.

"I don't think I'm the best guy to talk about these things," he said apologetically. "It's not like things are better back home, you know."

But the Sand shinobi relaxed and shook his head, "You are," when he saw Naruto frown he added, "You understood me. You went through the same loneliness, so you knew where I was coming from, and where I strayed. You were the one who brought me out of that hell. I'm thankful."

Naruto didn't know he had needed encouragement until he heard it from the boy next to him. It felt like a balm for his soul. He suddenly thought that everything would be alright. Him, Gaara, they'd be able to handle their village. They had the support of each other after all.

"Thanks Gaara. You're a real pal." Naruto noticed the sand user was genuinely surprised and his grin grew wider. "What's with that look?" he asked teasingly, "Of course we're pals. We fought, we talked and we haven't killed each other; if this isn't ninja bonding I don't know what is. Maybe a prank to seal the deal…"

And then he froze. Again, Naruto was forced to do a little introspection. Gaara's encouragement reminded him of his past. Something he had forgotten; something that happened to him during the time it dawned that the village hated him.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

_Once, one of Naruto's infamous pranks went a bit too far, and suddenly he had found himself running away from an angry mob. Knowing the back alleys like he knew about his love for ramen, Naruto tried to lose them there, only to end up surrounded. He hid himself and waited for the villagers to tire themselves out. As the folks got closer, he noticed the Hokage himself had gone after him. They made eye contact and the blond had been ready for everything, except the Hokage hiding him from the angry populace. When the villagers had left and Sarutobi remained pretending to look some more, Naruto came out of hiding._

"_Why'd you do that?" asked the blond in amazement _

_This surprised the already old Hiruzen who replied. "Because protecting the village is my job," before he added, "You're part of the village as well Naruto."_

"_Butthe village hates me." _

_He didn't look sad; this was more of statement than anything else. The villagers still glared at him for no reason, and some of them even hurt him, and it was so unfair, and he had cried so much. But his tears had already run out. He was tired of crying. In his childish reasoning, he had decided pranks would be the best way to get back at the unwelcoming world._

_Naruto went from wonder to wonder when he saw how sad the Hokage had become. Was he sad for him? That couldn't be. Nobody was ever sad for him; they hated—_

"_I don't hate you," replied the Hokage._

_Naruto couldn't tell if the old man was replying to his earlier statement or if he could read minds. He had one heck of a sense of timing though. He pulled himself together and continued to push the village leader for more answers. _

"_Why?" he asked, and then the floodgate was open. "Why do they hate me? Why don't you? Have I… done something wrong?"_

_Naruto couldn't imagine how painful this conversation was becoming for the honorable Third. "I don't know why they hate you." _

_It was true; the Kage of the Leaf was appalled by Naruto's reception. How could they hate the son of Minato? Naruto wasn't the Nine Tails; he hadn't asked for any of this. But instead of respect for his parents' sacrifice, they even denied him his right to belong to the Hidden Leaf. Hiruzen dearly wished he could do something else for this poor boy, but it had taken all of his power to simply prevent the story of the Nine Tails from spreading to the next generation. All he could do now was comfort him. _

"_But like I said, you're part of the village. And I like the whole village."_

"_Even me?" _

_Naruto would never know how close he had been to live a completely different life, one where he and Sarutobi Hiruzen would have simply vanished and roamed the Earth; a future where he would live the rest of his life free from the harassment, where he would learn how great his father had been, how like his mother he was. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be so, because Sarutobi Hiruzen was still the Hokage._

"_It's not 'even you', Naruto, it's you as much as anyone else. That's what the Hokage does," he answered; reminding himself he also had duties towards the rest of the Hidden Leaf._

"_Why?" the concept of protecting the village still eluded Naruto. For him, the Hokage was the strongest ninja, nothing more._

"_Because," said the Third with a smile, "the Hokage is at their coolest when he protects."_

_It didn't sound like much, but the air of pride around the Hokage told Naruto he had just listened to an important secret. "Oooh." And indeed, Naruto would never remember a moment when he thought the Hokage could've been cooler._

"_Didn't you think I was cool when I helped you back then?" his smile becoming playful._

"_Yeah," replied the young boy with a grin of his own._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto was brought back to the real world by a concerned Gaara. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The blond boy, recalling this memory, nearly burst out laughing. His dream must have been so silly to the Third. Acknowledgment: what a small goal. Looking back, he could see the truth in Sarutobi's words: he had always pushed past his limits when desperate to protect the ones dear to him. And the Hokage had a heart big enough to like the whole village. _Even me_, he thought.

Shikamaru had only been half right, now that he thought about it. This wasn't only about him; it was about Sasuke and Sakura as well; it was about being able to eventually protect everyone. And seriously, how could you protect what you couldn't even face?

Seeing Gaara was still waiting for an answer, Naruto smiled at him. "You know, I never really thought hard about being a Hokage until recently. I thought it'd be an easy way to get the village to acknowledge me; get appreciated, you know?" He took a deep breath and smiled serenely, "I recently got a reality check though – got to thank Shikamaru for that." Then he scowled, "That jerk."

Just then a teen suddenly appeared on the roof. Naruto blinked.

"Shikamaru? What are you—?"

But the chuunin did not let him finish. "I was never here, got it?"

The blond had only the time to notice the panicked expression on his face before he vanished again. He looked at an equally confused Gaara, who only shrugged. Good advice: whatever Shikamaru was talking about would be here soon.

A minute later, Temari arrived in all her fury.

"Where is he?" she demanded, not noticing the two Jinchuuriki. She looked left and right, but not seeing her target, she let out a howl of frustration. "Damn that coward!" Unfortunately for Naruto, she finally recognized him. "Hey! You! The blond brat!"

"Hey!" snapped Naruto, "My name is—" but the words got stuck in his throat when she grabbed him by the collar and brought his face dangerously close to hers. He could see in her eyes that if she ever found Shikamaru, his death would be neither swift nor painless. _What is it with girls and Shikamaru_?

"Where is he?" she snarled.

"Who's _he_?" he asked half in fear, half in confusion.

This got him some rough shaking from the fan user. "Don't play games with me, brat! You know damn well who I'm talking about!"

But Naruto only looked even more confused. "Shikamaru?" he tried.

Naruto knew that playing dumb would only anger her further, which is exactly why he continued to push her buttons. Really, why would he willingly provoke her? He hoped she'd think about that before he got shaken into unconsciousness.

Thankfully, Gaara had caught on to the blond's ploy and decided to help.

He called out her name, "Temari."

Temari stopped shaking the poor blond to look at her brother, who, she just realized had been there all along. "Gaara. I—"

"Knock it off," his tone was annoyed, "The shadow user isn't here."

She let go of Naruto. It was useless to pester him now; she couldn't call them both liars now, could she? She muttered, "Fine!" and jumped onto another roof, trying to find the pineapple-haired chuunin.

Gaara looked at his new friend perplexed. "Naruto?"

"Shaken, not stirred," answered Naruto to the implied question as he willed the world to stop its mad dance.

"Troublesome woman," chided Shikamaru from below the roof. He grabbed the hand rails, vaulted over them and dusted his hands when he landed. "Couldn't even get to relax because of her."

"Man, what the hell did you do to her?" whined Naruto, "She even looked like she wanted to kill _me_, you know!"

"How the hell should I know?" snapped the chuunin. "One second she wanted a rematch and the next…"

It was at that moment Shikamaru glanced at Gaara. The Sand user looked from him to the roof Temari had last landed on, back to him. And then he _smiled_. Not the twisted smile he used to wear; an amused one. A _normal_ one. Oh, this was definitely bad. The young Nara shivered.

"That's it! That's a genuine smile!" congratulated Naruto.

Shikamaru ignored Naruto. "Oi, what's with the smile?" he cautiously asked.

"Temari's got a new obsession," replied the One Tail Jinchuuriki.

His eyes grew wide. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

But all he got from Gaara was an unpleasant, "Good luck." The genius leaned against the railing and sighed. He tried asking Gaara again, but the red-haired boy excused himself and left him with Naruto's company.

"So, what do you think of the new Gaara?" he asked enthusiastically.

"He was less scary when he was a psycho," answered the cynical chuunin.

Naruto laughed.

**_Poor Shikamaru. Will his girl troubles never end?_**

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

**A/N: New Year, New Chapter. Enjoy folks!**

** PS: it seems I might need another Beta reader… anyone interested?**

Rev: A greater level of maturity and cleverness in Naruto and a lower level of overwhelming brilliance will help establish a better dynamic btw them

**Rep: Working towards that, but you have to remember the Naruto I was given to. About Shikamaru: he seems perfect, but he'll go down. Hard. **

Rev: ugg spoiling your story making it a hinata/naruto ! Sheez maybe kish makes it sak/naruto because he has a history with sakura ever thought of that?

**Rep: Even author make mistakes… seriously though. As I said before, romance won't take the forefront of this fic, so if you don't like the pairing, bear with it. If it's too much for you I apologize, but the plot is already solid in my mind.**

Rev: Good story but wind Chidori. Variaition of Chidori.. really... why not make own jutsu instead of basing it off something.

**Rep: Because he's not quite at the level to make his own jutsu, hence the base. He'll be getting help making the jutsu anyway. **

Rev: Drop. The Fucking. Comments

** Rep: Never! *laughs maniacally***


	28. Rematch

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **KeiGinya **and** Shoguo**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**28****. Peacemakers: Rematch**

_**Will Shikamaru be able to escape Temari this time?**_

Kakashi looked over the vast plains that spread before his eyes. He and Sasuke had left the lush forest of Konoha hours ago. In a few minutes they would be entering the Water country and already "the" rain was greeting the shinobi duo. His pupil finally caught up, breathless."

"Are we there yet?" asked the Genin between pants.

Kakashi flashed him an eye-grin. "Almost."

Sasuke sighed before muttering incoherent things about the stupid weather, the stupid missions, and why the whole universe was out to get him. Kakashi was left to wonder about the current situation. If he had to put it in words it would be 'why did I end up bringing him here?'

It wasn't that he was concerned for the kid's safety; Sasuke had handled many things since he had become a Genin – special props for impressing Orochimaru – but the main idea was to take his mind out of the gutter, so to speak. Instead, the boy had gotten moody. He had become snappy and more conceited than ever, mostly because Kakashi had made a stupid mistake.

He had assumed Sasuke could be easily distracted.

When he had gone after Naruto the first time, they were heading towards a town for the night and so, by pretending to let him fend for himself, had been able to go and come back before sunrise. Two days later, they had stumbled on a little altercation between two villages and, since the boy had been itching for some action, Kakashi had thought he would let Sasuke handle them in order to 'evaluate his progress'. He somehow misjudged the time needed for the prodigy to calm the feud; when he came back, Sasuke was waiting for him.

"How is he?" he had asked, and Kakashi knew he had been caught. Of course the Jonin said nothing... which led to their current predicament.

"You sure he's in this dump?" asked the Uchiha. He was already wet to the bone under this downpour, but Kakashi knew better than to think the awful weather had anything to do with the Genin's awful mood.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure of anything. That man moves a lot."

The teen nodded. "Let's get a move on, then. The sooner we find him, the sooner you and I get to 'talk'."

Kakashi sighed; clearly he wasn't getting out of it.

The two of them made their way into enemy territory.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The day before the official meeting, the two teams met like before, with the exception of Baki and Yugao. Temari was clearly looking to kill Shikamaru with her eyes but, other than that, things looked like the second day of village mixing wouldn't go too bad. Naruto in particular thought things were progressing very well. He even voiced the opinion that Team Sand could become great allies, which his teammates answered with a blank stare.

Naruto was first to speak.

"I'm teaming with Gaara again!" yelled the blond, hand raised high.

Shikamaru was not looking forward to what came next. He was already planning his dashing escape, when his eyes fell on Kankuro. The puppeteer was clearly giving him a look. In a split second of mutual understanding, followed by a slight nod, the Chunin knew this day would be a good one.

"Shikamaru," said Kankuro.

The Nara barely held back a grin. "Kankuro"

The puppet master nodded, apparently relieved as well. "Let's go," he said, and the two of them immediately started walking away side by side, leaving everyone else with the weird impression that they had agreed beforehand.

Temari couldn't believe it. This was betrayal! "Kankuro, you—!" she yelled.

Her brother never looked back. He simply waved a hand and shouted back "Sorry, sis, see you later."

The kunoichi growled but there was nothing she could do besides punish Kankuro later on. Turning around, she saw Gaara leaving to the other side with his new friend. This left her with the bug user. She didn't mind the other shinobi; in fact, she couldn't care less about him, but now she was stuck with him while her prey had taken cover behind her brother of all the people. What a coward!

Temari needed an outlet for all that frustration. She looked at Shino again. _He'll do_, she thought. Said shinobi must have read her mind because his bugs suddenly started crawling around in every direction. Temari jumped back, sending him a glare. The bug user called his insects back, looking surprised at their outburst.

"My apologies," he said.

The kunoichi looked at him, and then at his coat, where no doubt thousands of these critters were waiting, should she really pick a fight with him. She decided right then and there that she despised bugs, already shuddering at the thought of one of those insects crawling over her skin.

"Ugh!"

She turned around and left in yet another direction. Shino smiled before going after her.

Today would be amusing.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"And now, for our next trick," said Kankuro, "my partner will use his puppet magic on a living being; any volunteers?"

Shikamaru grinned. He preferred his neutral face; some called it a scowl – how rude! – but if he wanted the show to be a success, he had to play his part. Not what he had in mind when he left with Kankuro. He was glad in the end, though; there was no awkward conversation or death match or anything in between. Instead, they were to please a crowd in order for the puppet master to woo the ladies. The Sand shinobi hadn't mentioned it but, hey, either you're a genius or you're not.

His volunteer was a cute blue-haired girl about his age. She looked nervous but her friends were encouraging her. He glanced at his partner; from the look of interest in his eyes, hers was definitely the group he was going after. In other words: act to impress, but not so much that Kankuro was overshadowed. _Shouldn't be too hard_. He shrugged, smiled to the crowd and showed them his courageous assistant.

Looking at the girl, who he learned was called Saki, she really was nervous. This was bad; the Shadow Bind didn't hurt, but being stripped of movement was... unnerving to say the least. Having her scream or faint was not acceptable so he decided to comfort her.

Shikamaru put a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "I'll have to ask you to relax and try not to panic, because you'll really lose control for a moment." She stiffened like he expected she would, but kept on. "Don't worry; I won't make you do anything embarrassing, alright? Do you trust me?" she looked him in the eye, as if searching for something. She then smiled, timidly nodding. He flashed her a smile and she blushed.

The young Nara discretely performed his jutsu and took control of his temporary helper. Saki did look afraid at first, but since he was only doing simple moves and waves of the hand, her smile quickly returned. Looking at her again, he noticed she was wearing pants. He grinned; he had just thought of a great idea for the final. He widened the distance between them; Saki was curious, but decided to play along. She had no say in the matter in any case.

"And now," he announced, "to show you this isn't your run of the mill trick…"

A moment later, the two of them were getting a running start before making a cartwheel followed by a front flip. Judging that was enough, the duo faced the crowd and bowed under the cheers. Shikamaru took the opportunity to cancel the jutsu.

"You okay?" he asked the girl.

She was beaming. "I'm alright. It was scary: I never knew I could do that," she said, still amazed by her somersault.

"All part of the trick," he assured her. He let the girl rejoin her friends before Kankuro went on with the show.

Five minutes later, Shikamaru was helping Kankuro pack his things when they were accosted by the said group of girls, Saki in the lead. Things must have worked better than expected; the plan was for Kankuro to pursue them after the show.

"So you two are partners?" asked one of the other girls.

"Truth be told, he's my boss," he answered, cutting off his 'boss'.

Instantly, all eyes were on Kankuro. "Really?"

"Yeah, and he taught me all I know too," added the Chunin. "It's really kind of him to call me his partner."

The puppet master had no idea what his partner was getting at, but decided to play his part anyway. "Nah, it's fine, you're a quick learner."

What happened afterward nearly made Kankuro's jaw drop. Shikamaru yawned. At first he assured it was nothing and let them continue their small talk, but then he yawned louder than before. Finally, he excused himself and lowered his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, boss, you know I'm always tired after this trick," he admitted, "If you don't mind, I'll go lie down now."

Kankuro put on a concerned expression. "Sure. You can take the afternoon off."

Shikamaru looked pleasantly surprised, "Thanks boss." He bowed to the ladies and started to leave.

"You're so kind," said one of the girls.

The puppeteer didn't know whether to laugh or cackle like a mad man; the Nara had set things up so well it was downright evil. "Well that guy lost his folks," he explained, fully immersed in his role. "Someone had to take care of him. He's like my little bro, you know?" he took that wistful look he knew chicks would dig. When he saw their faces he knew everything was in the bag.

"Anyway, I didn't make my show to bother you with our sad stories," he grinned. "Let's see if I can find something to cheer you girls up."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru was currently looking at the clouds from the roof of a restaurant. With all that running from Temari, the spectacular first impressions they had, and Yugao being such a loose cannon, the lazy genius barely had the time to fully enjoy his pastime. Staring at them now, he noticed they weren't very different from the ones in Konoha. He found them soothing and himself envious, just the same. He spent hours there, simply watching time fly by in all its majestic fluffiness. Suddenly an intruder disturbed his cloud watching.

"Shikamaru," said the newcomer. The genius identified the puppeteer as the owner of the voice.

"Hmm?"

The boy sat next to him. He couldn't be happier too. He had two dates set for the next two days with two beauties. Life was fantastic. Still, it amazed him his partner had wanted nothing to do with it. He shrugged.

"You realize you just left me there with a group of cute girls, right?" he asked, making sure Shikamaru was still sane.

The Nara shrugged. "Yeah; I don't care what you do as long as I get to slack off and that I get a cut of the act."

A guy who helps you get the girls _and_ wants nothing to do with them? There was only one conclusion left. "You know, Nara, this is the start of a beautiful and long lasting friendship."

Shikamaru snickered. He didn't mind really. The guy was simple; he liked simple, and with Naruto threatening to take a more important part of his life he needed more... simple relationships.

"Oh, by the way, we have a double date in two days;" remembered Kankuro, "you lost your folks and you're like a brother to me."

Shikamaru sat up; this wasn't part of the deal. "Do I have to?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Sorry kid, that was the only way for me to date Chihiro; you get to have Saki though, so it'll be alright."

"Saki?"

"Your assistant," he reminded him patiently.

That girl didn't sound like she'd be an Ino, a Sakura, or like his mom, so it would be OK, right? And, again, she wasn't a kunoichi. Besides, it would be his first date; he could get some tips from Kankuro for future reference, and maybe, maybe it wouldn't be as boring as he feared. The young Nara nodded begrudgingly, to the satisfaction of his partner.

Still sitting, he looked around and saw Naruto and Gaara on a rooftop not far from theirs. Naruto was trying to explain something by the way he was madly gesturing, and after he stopped, the sand user simply blinked at him. The blond slapped himself, making his partner grin from where he was.

"Gaara changed," he said.

Kankuro was startled out of his plans and looked around. Finally seeing the other pair he smiled. "You noticed, huh? Ever since that fight with you guys, he hasn't gone on a killing streak." He frowned. "Some of the elders aren't happy – think they're losing their weapon. Screw them," he paused before adding, "I owe Naruto one. Seems I had lost my brother, somehow, but now I got him back."

Shikamaru smiled at the little speech and decided to make a brief summary. "Translation: I'm not afraid of my psycho brother killing me in my sleep anymore," he joked.

"Shut up," said the older shinobi, punching him lightly on the arm.

Shikamaru's smile vanished however as he thought of another problem. "Speaking of your siblings," he said, getting a hold of Kankuro's attention again. "I was trying to figure out what was wrong with your sister, and Gaara started smiling." He shuddered, still remembering the eerily normal smile. "He said she was obsessed with me: any idea what's he talking about?"

The puppet user looked at him, then at Gaara, and then his face lit up in understanding. "Oh," and then he looked at Shikamaru half in pity, half in amusement. "Oh, man! I can't believe I didn't see that!" seeing the Chunin's look of confusion he elaborated for him, "You're screwed."

"Huh?" Shikamaru didn't like this at all.

Kankuro scratched his chin, choosing his words. "Well you could call it a family tradition or something, but we're all obsessed with something," explained Kankuro.

_Some family tradition!_ Thought the pineapple haired shinobi. His companion continued.

"Well, for a long time Gaara's been obsessed with... killing, I guess. But you can see what his current obsession is."

Shikamaru glanced to the side; yeah he could definitely see who was Gaara's subject of interest. "And I suppose yours is girls," he joked. Clearly the guy had puppet issues.

To his great surprise, Kankuro blinked and said, "Yeah, how did you know?" he ignored the Chunin's dumbfounded look and moved on.

"Temari… let's just say she's extremely competitive and she hates being taken lightly," he said, "I remember the first instructor we had. Once, to drive his point home, he beat her easily and taunted her. She made his life a living hell and she didn't stop until she beat him. I remember it took half a year. In the end, that instructor quit shinobi life all together."

Shikamaru frowned; he didn't like the sound of that. "Troublesome," he muttered.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

When Team Oblivion met that night, everybody had a good time – even Shino, which surprised Shikamaru beyond measure. Of course the bug user wouldn't tell him how he got the Sand kunoichi off his back, which only served to irritate him. Naruto teased him about girl problems; he decided to shut them up by telling them about his day. Satisfied with their incredulous faces, he decided to take a walk outside in order to get a little training done before going to sleep.

His father had decided his tracking skills were sub-par and issued him a two-part homework in exchange for the book on chakra. First, find a way to be aware of his surroundings in a five meter radius, at the very least. The second part was catching little animals – birds, squirrels… – with the following stipulations: use of tools was forbidden as well as the use of the Shadow Binding and Shadow Sewing Techniques were forbidden. Also, the prey had to be captured alive; bonus points for capturing it without it being aware.

The first part had been easy since he had found a loophole in the Absolute Control technique; he could shift the control of his senses' limits to his conscious mind and, unlike everything else, this change was permanent, giving him the opportunity to skip the long training dedicated to the sharpening of the five human senses. This gave him superhuman eyesight and smell. Those didn't come close to the Inuzuka or Hyuga clans, but they were more than enough to prevent him from ever getting surprised from behind again. His pride was in his hearing – at its limits he was able to hear whispered conversations almost fifty meters away – however, having this kind of talent next to Naruto was… painful at first.

The second part was simply impossible. No matter what he did, his prey would always notice him sooner or later. Sometimes it was the noise of the leaves crackling under his feet, sometimes it was the animal spotting him, sometimes it just knew. Shikamaru couldn't explain it properly but there was no other reason he could explain their reaction otherwise. Since he couldn't do this particular exercise during the day without being noticed – and looking very weird – he would spend part of the night chasing rodents and birds before going to sleep.

This particular night seemed as fruitless as the others. Shikamaru's mind was telling him the solution had to do with what Naruto had called killing intent, but so far nothing else came up. He decided to give up after his latest attempt, when he heard the subtle grating of sand against the ground. The barely noticeable sound intensified and the Chunin moved out of the way before the ground suddenly gave under him. _What the…!_

He didn't have time to question the attack, however; already a wave of sand was coming from his back. He knew something else was going on when he noticed the attacks coming were nothing he couldn't dodge using his skills. True to his apprehension, the sand waves became hands that attacked faster and more precisely. His reflexes starting to become lacking, Shikamaru searched for the attacker before things became even more troublesome. He Body Flickered out of harm's way then moved again towards higher ground. When he reached the top and saw Gaara, the sand relented.

He glared at the perpetrator. "Do you mind?" he asked.

The sand user remained unfazed. "Nara Shikamaru."

"Gaara of the Sand," he said, returning the greeting. "Mind explaining about that little test of yours?"

"Just saying hi," he replied.

Shikamaru's eye twitched. "…You don't like me, do you?"

"You're friends with Naruto," he remarked, apparently ignoring the shadow user's statement.

Shikamaru blinked, at lost for words. "Yeah…?" was Gaara _jealous_? "You do realize Naruto can have more than one friend, right?" he tried.

"He talks a lot about you."

"He does?" once again, he couldn't see where Gaara was going with this. "Talks about you too; he says you changed," he mused.

The sand user focused his gaze on the lazy genius. "What do you think?"

Shikamaru appeared to think about the answer. "Well, considering I'd probably be dead by now if I was facing the old Gaara, I'd say yes."

There was a silence.

"You are different than Naruto," he realized.

The Nara heir snorted. "Really, now…?"

"Yet you are somehow the same. Interesting." Shikamaru didn't understand a thing, except for the fact that Gaara had come to some sort of conclusion. "We'll talk again," he said. And before the Chunin could add anything, he disappeared. The young Nara shrugged and went back to his room.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The negotiators arrived in town a day before the meeting. Each team met their respective diplomat, relieved their escorts, and helped them settle in their quarters. The Konoha mediator expressed the desire to talk to his homologue before the meetings actually started, in order to gauge him and his intentions. After contacting the Sand siblings, an appointment was made a little before noon.

The diplomats exchanged greetings and pleasantries under the watchful eyes of the shinobi, in order to ensure that talk about the hidden villages would actually start tomorrow. Eventually the topic shifted to the Sand's and the Leaf's goodwill towards one another.

"Before the meeting, I think we should do something in order to prove our mutual desire for peace," proposed the Sand negotiator.

"And what would that be?" asked his homologue.

"I suggest a battle between our respective shinobi."

The male shinobi scowled while the kunoichi smiled – at least, Team Oblivion guessed that Yugao was probably smiling as well.

Shikamaru was first to speak. "I object. How is fighting going to strengthen our relationship?" he asked while others nodded. "This will only create a grudge and that's the reason we're currently at each other's throat in the first place."

The Konoha negotiator sighed. "My subordinate is correct," he said, reminding Shikamaru of his place in the meeting. The Chunin simply snorted. "I do not see the value of such a contest myself."

"I understand," replied his homologue, "But the country of the Wind has always recognized strength as a source of trust. I don't think the Hidden Sand would profit from an alliance with a weakened shinobi village." With that statement the Leaf Team frowned and the atmosphere in the room became cold and heavy. The diplomat from Suna cleared his throat and tried again, "That is to say, since your Hokage... passed away, I think a fight would be the best way to show us the power of the famous Hidden Leaf as not dwindled. Besides, it would be a good occasion for our shinobi to settle a grudge with enemies from the past without starting a war."

The Konoha negotiator was actually thinking about it. Shikamaru gave him a glare, as if to say 'Don't you dare!' but the man shrugged and said, "What are your stipulations?"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

_This isn't going to end well_, thought Shikamaru. Facing him was Temari, and this time, there was no way out of the fight.

"Told you I'd have a rematch," she said smugly.

The Chunin was certain this was all her fault. Why would a negotiator ask for a battle between shinobi otherwise? According to Gaara, the three of them were children of the late Fourth Kazekage. This alone explained a lot. Had he known, he would have refused his negotiator's suggestion. Speaking of which, the man had agreed to their demand a bit too easily; Genta's pawn, perhaps? He'd have to investigate after the fight.

They were ironically at the same place Temari had challenged him two days prior. He had to give her credit; she had chosen a terrain perfectly suited for her. No trees, no rocks, and no terrain formation he could take advantage of. Both Baki and Yugao had positioned themselves at each side of the terrain; Team Leaf and Team Sand had decided to watch from behind the Suna Jonin. The squad captains had agreed to referee the match and were to interfere in order to prevent things from going out of control. They, however, did not mention anything about this fight being nonlethal.

Shikamaru didn't like that.

"Begin!" said the older shinobi and kunoichi.

Shikamaru dove to dodge the oncoming wind attack and simply outran the others. Temari was making sure he was at a distance from her with his shadow facing the opposite direction. Looking at his opponent, he saw her smile at his expense. Could she be thinking he was now in trouble? It seemed she thought all he was good for was dodging and coming up with a good plan. Usually being underestimated was something he liked, but somehow being misjudged by an opponent he already fought against annoyed him.

He decided to give Temari a little lesson. He took out a smoke bomb and let it fall on the ground. A moment later, a great explosion followed by a huge cloud of smoke invaded the area Shikamaru was in seconds earlier.

"Ha! If you think that smoke can hide you, you're wrong!" she said, but when she was readying her fan, five Chunin escaped the smoke trap.

Temari knew these clones could be a diversion, so her first action was to blow the smoke away. Before the smoke was all clear she aimed for two of the Shikamaru; they weren't the real one. Looking back at the area where Shikamaru had dropped his bomb, there was no sign of life. This meant the real shadow user was definitely one of the three look-a-likes. She noticed one bravely coming after her and attacked him, only to see him disappear in smoke.

"Drat! Cunning bastard!"

Just then, she heard the ground move behind her and felt the tip of a kunai against her throat. She couldn't believe it, but there was Shikamaru, right behind her, already having the upper hand.

"You know? If this was war, you'd already be dead; stop underestimating me."

Temari growled before rapidly spinning to strike him with her elbow, only to have that Shikamaru disappear as well. _Body Switch_, she thought. Looking back in front of her, the real Chunin was sliding to a halt in the place where the fight had started, as if nothing happened. He smirked and put his hands in his pocket.

The Sand kunoichi twitched – she was definitely wiping that smirk out of that arrogant bastard's face. _That's it!_ she thought, _I'm taking out the big guns__!_ Her thoughts must have reflected on her face, because the Nara's smile faltered – at least he recognized impending doom when it was coming – though that wouldn't save him. She took out a scroll, and bit her thumb. Shikamaru, seeing her trying to summon, threw some kunai in her direction, but she was able to finish before the projectiles arrived, and an eye patch wearing, sickle-wielding weasel, deflected the kunai.

"You called, miss?" hollered the summon.

"We're ridding the field of the pineapple!" she ordered, smiling dangerously. She then challenged her opponent. "Try to dodge that, Nara!"

"[Whirl]!"

She made a strong and wide sweeping motion, blasting everything away while her summon created wind sickles, promptly shredding to pieces anything Temari's wind had leveled. The kunoichi looked at the destruction she had caused, a smile on her lips. Her expression darkened once she saw no trace of her opponent. He couldn't have really died, could he? The lack of counterattack was worrisome.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Behind Baki, the small crowd was quiet.

"It seems Temari won," said the ever impassive Gaara.

Naruto blanched. Shikamaru couldn't go and just die like that, could he?

The blond was snapped out of his thoughts by Kankuro. "What's that?" asked the puppeteer, pointing at a dark spot on the field.

Naruto recognized the shape and held back a laugh. "That's… a butt."

"A…?" Kankuro stopped himself mid-sentence to look at Naruto.

The other Genin sighed. "Just watch," he told him.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Baki, I think this match is over," Temari told her squad leader. The Sand Jonin replied with a blank stare towards a spot on the field. Her eyes followed the direction and there was Shikamaru, dusting the dirt off his pants. Other than the dirty clothes, he hadn't the slightest hint of a scratch.

"Sheesh," he said, glaring at her, "ever heard of 'Overkill'?"

"How…?" she asked.

He simply directed her gaze toward the ground around him. After squinting she saw the outline of a hole. _But how?_ she asked herself. The answer came as quickly as the question. _The first explosion_, she figured, _he made that trench from the very beginning._ She had thoroughly underestimated him. Again.

She gave him an annoyed smile. "Apparently, that wasn't enough since you're still breathing."

He shrugged but before she could wind up her devastating attack again, he made a hand sign. A second later, Temari was pushed to the ground by the explosion behind her. _Of course; I shouldn't have assumed he got behind me just for a taunt_, she told herself. She lifted her head just in time to see her opponent throw kunai in her direction.

"I got it," her summon told her.

_Shit!_ "Wait! Don't!" yelled Temari. And, true to her fears, the sickle weasel was caught in the blast of the single tagged kunai cleverly hidden in their midst. The animal bounced off the ground, but limped to his contractor.

"Sorry, Miss, but it seems I'm out of the fight."

The Sand kunoichi nodded and the sickle weasel vanished. From the other side of the area, the Chunin was patiently waiting, eyeing her movements.

"If you think that was the only trick in my book, you're sorely mistaken," she yelled, before sending him a couple of wind tornadoes. This time, instead of dodging, he made a couple of hand signs including one she dreaded.

"[Fireball jutsu]"

The ball of fire simply grew larger as it tore through the wind jutsu and this time Temari was the one who had to dodge. She moved faster in order to evade two oncoming fireballs. Damn that conceited bastard! Somehow he had gotten the upper hand. Using fire-type techniques, explosives kunai – it was like he trained for the sole purpose of defeating her. Fortunately, she wasn't out of tricks yet…

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

From the other corner, Shikamaru was inwardly going through dozens of scenarios in his mind trying to find the one thing that would settle this match. He had come up with one which had a success rate of at least thirty percent, and had decided to roll with it until he saw something that made him slap himself.

_**Of course**__ she's flying. Otherwise, this fight might just be incredibly hard or something._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

As Temari circled him, sitting on her fan, raining weapons from the heavens on her powerless foe, she mentally patted herself on the back. She should have thought of this move sooner. The kunoichi had to admit she hadn't planned for this fight to drag on for this long, and the way things were going, it would drag for a while longer; she'd have to wait until Nara made a stupid move or bait him into wasting his chakra. This fight almost had her throwing everything at him.

Which is why she was in such a good mood; Temari had been looking for a worthwhile fight ever since the Chunin exams and had found none. Gaara killing people made things noticeably hard too. Add to that her 'win' against the lazy bastard down below and her frustration had reached its peak. Following the fiasco that was the Leaf invasion, she and her brothers had been handling B- and C-ranked missions ever since, but with Gaara and Kankuro as teammates, there really wasn't any challenge.

So it was easy to understand her anger to see one of the few people who had actually put up a fight against her simply waltz into the room, only to runaway a moment later. Add to that the cowardly way he had handled all of her challenges, and he was lucky he was an interesting opponent; otherwise, she would have killed him by now.

Back to the fight, she came up with a great idea to speed things up: changing direction, she suddenly dove towards him. The Chunin smirked and threw a fireball, only to have it disperse in front of Temari's war fan. The shock on his face was pure bliss for Temari. _That'd show him not to underestimate me,_ she thought. He moved out of the way at the last second, but the kunoichi threw some shuriken while he leapt away.

The projectiles aided by her wind nature hit his right shoulder and left leg, finally paying him back for those explosive tags. Looking at him again, the wounds weren't severe, but would surely impair his movements. She made a second dive once again, and Nara tried the fire technique again, probably trying to figure out the trick she was using. She shook her head, _he's getting desperate_, she thought. The result for this bout was Shikamaru clutching his left arm while blood dripped from a cut to his face.

"Give up, Nara!" she said magnanimously. "I'll allow it today."

The Chunin snorted and braced himself for round three. As she plummeted she noticed a larger number of small fireballs. _Silly Nara,_ she thought _you'll never—_

_Boom!_

The force of the explosion literally blew her out of the sky. Thankfully, she was already close to the ground and alert enough to land somewhat safely. Her ankle hurt though; probably sprained. She moved as quickly as she could to retrieve her fan and retreated. Another lucky break: her fan didn't break and, due to the velocity of her flight, it hadn't caught on fire either.

She quickly got on and flew away before another fireball reached her and exploded on the ground. Damn fireballs; exploding ones at that!_ When the hell did he get the time to learn that move?_ And just like that, they were once again at a stalemate. She knew he couldn't spam the jutsu and he probably figured her ankle was out of commission… which is probably why he'd never suspect her suddenly getting into close range. She knew he'd be dangerous with his Shadow Bind jutsu, but if she attacked fast enough, the Nara wouldn't have time to counterattack.

Making up her mind, she decided to take the gamble and descended for a final showdown. She evaded everything coming at him and when the dreaded exploding fireball came at her, she front flipped from her fan, at the same time grabbing her weapon. The poor guy had barely enough time to block with his already useless left arm before she landed with her over-handed smash.

"Gotcha!"

She felt rather than heard the bones of his arm break and knew she had won the fight. There was no way he could perform the jutsu in that state. Her smile broke, however, as she remained still against her will, her left arm taking an awkward position.

On the other side of the technique Shikamaru sighed. "Phew, finally; Shadow Bind complete."

"That's impossible!" yelled Temari, utterly confused. "When you did make it?"

"Actually, the right question would be, when did I stop it?" corrected the Chunin.

"…From the beginning?"

"Smoke bomb," he confirmed.

She tried to say something back, but refrained from doing so. Seeing her muteness Shikamaru decided to explain one more thing. "The jutsu doesn't waste chakra so long as I don't try to manipulate my shadow. I'm not telling you anything more than that on the technique though. Any other questions?"

She finally managed to shut her mouth and shook her head. "Now what?" she asked.

He took out a tagged kunai and threw it at her feet. "You give up, or you blow up."

She looked at him defiantly; if he thought she would fall for a bluff— She could only gawk as his right hand raised to the familiar sign he had used to detonate the earlier tags.

"No wait—"

A loud explosion was heard and there was a lot of smoke but, in the end, Temari was in one piece; quite shaken, but still alive.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Ah, guess that was a dud; my bad. Here's a real one – let's try it again, shall we?"

Temari looked in his eyes; they were cold. No mistaking that look. "I… I give up," she muttered.

He didn't let her out of the Shadow Bind. "A little louder for the referees, if you please."

She huffed, but in the end she sighed; standing on that injured leg was starting to really hurt. "I forfeit the match," she yelled. This time he nodded and, after both referees acknowledged the end of the battle, Shikamaru released his jutsu. He slumped to the ground trying to gauge the damage to his arm and mumbled, "Damn woman doesn't know how to give a guy a break," snorting when he heard a chuckle from Temari who sat down as well. Nothing more was said as they waited for their teammates to pick them up.

Team Sand was the first to arrive. Kankuro hands had curled into hard fists by the end of the match. He could only respect Temari's opponent, even if he wanted to maim him. Gaara was the same; he remained impassive, but his sand became restless. "And here I thought the Leaf were a bunch of sentimental wimps," muttered the puppet user, as he passed his sister's arm over his shoulder. "You were about to kill her."

Naruto frowned, "Well, what did you expect, 'course he was! She started it!" The Nara had to chuckle at that. Though it was what basically happened, in his mind, it sounded a little bit more… mature than that. "By the way, was the second tag real?" wondered Naruto.

Noticing Temari giving him the same look askance, Shikamaru sighed and made the tag explode. Seeing the crater and scorch marks, nobody could doubt there had been a real bomb there. The fox Jinchuriki shrugged, but his eyebrow shot up when he saw Temari smirking tiredly.

"Uh, Shikamaru?"

The Chunin couldn't answer Naruto's implied question. Well, he guessed she was at least satisfied that he had considered her enough of a threat to really go for the kill, but there was still something else about that small smile… something ominous.

"Next time won't end like that Nara," she stated confidently.

"Next time?" Was that woman crazy? "There won't _be_ a next time! I _beat_ you. We're _even_. I'm _done,_" Shikamaru calmly said, making sure to emphasize on every important word.

Her smirk bloomed into a smile. "Who said you had any say on the matter? You're my new rival now," she announced to him, "try not to disappoint me."

Naruto and Kankuro laughed out loud and patted Shikamaru's shoulder. Gaara simply smiled. Baki shook his head, grinning. Yugao and Shino both stifled a chortle. The Chunin's lips moved but no sound came out. Only once Team Sand was out of view did voice come back, "But, but…"

Naruto had just stopped laughing then. "Jeez," he told him, "looking at your faces, I'm not sure who won or who lost here."

Shikamaru's shoulders slumped as he let out a tried groan.

_**Good luck with your new rival Shikamaru! And now, for the mission!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: ****Hey guys, new chapter! I realized I really like replying to reviews so, I'm doing something special with it. Hope you like it. Also, 400 reviews! Thanks guys!**

**SShun:** Basically, I'm having these two helping me answer the reviews from now on.**  
Naru:** Hi guys!**  
Shika****:** Troublesome.**  
SShun****: **…Anyways, on to the rev—**  
Naru****:** Wait a second! What kind of fic is this? Why am I paired with Shikamaru! Don't tell me—**  
Shika****:** Relax, we're just good friends in this story.**  
Naru****:** Whew! OK, on to the reviews!**  
SShun & ****Shika:** …

**Rev: ****Great use of clashing between old Naruto and new Naruto****  
Naru:** Hey what does he mean by 'new Naruto'?**  
SShun****:** Basically, I'm making you more awesome in this fic. And less stupid.**  
Naru****:** Really? Awesome! Wait! I'm not stupid**  
Shika****:** Yeah, you are, pretty stupid I might add.**  
Naru****:** Hmph!**  
Shika****:** What about me then?**  
SShun****:** You're better, but I'm making you work for it.**  
Shika****:** Tch! Troublesome

**Rev: ****That's one thing I don't get. Why is Shikamaru so popular with the ladies?****  
****Naru:** _*Snickers*  
_**Shika****:** Pop- Popular? You call this popular? The girls I meet are either crazy, like Ino, or trying to kill me and I'm _popular  
_**SShun****:** _*Chortles*_**  
Shika****:** Oi! Don't you laugh! You're the one writing this fic!**  
SShun****:** I know that's why it's so funny.**  
Shika****:** _*grumbles*_

**Rev: ****Heehhehe You don't know how glad you made me when I saw this chapter in my inbox today~! It made me want to go kill someone****  
Naru & SShun & ****Shika:** _*slowly steps away from the reviewer*_

**Rev: ****Will his girl troubles never end? I don't WANT it to end, bwahahaha!****  
Shika:** _*eye twitch*_ You're not going to listen to that review, right?**  
SShun:** _*whistles*_**  
Shika:** _*groans*_

**Rev: ****I love this chapter, The simple interaction between Gaara and Naruto was fantastic.**  
**Naru:** True, true  
**SShun:** That's because Gaara's awesome.  
**Shika:** _*Nods*_  
**Naru:** Hey! What about me?  
**SShun:** Can you stop frigging Amaterasu with your sand?  
**Naru:** …  
**SShun:** thought so.

**Rev: ****I really enjoyed Shino, for some reason**  
**SShun:** Me too! I dunno, he doesn't sound very canon, but I like better that way.

**Rev: ****I hope that Naruto won't take anymore of Sakura's pounding it gets old**  
**SShun & Shika:** _*Stare at Naruto*_  
**Naru:** Oh, come on! It's not like I can hit Sakura-chan back, you know! What am I supposed to do?  
**SShun:** _*face-palm*_  
**Shika:** Dodge?  
**Naru:** … Shut up.

**Rev: ****Drop. The fucking. Comments.**  
**SShun:** _*Snif*_ he doesn't like my comments.  
**Naru:** Don't worry, Shun, I like your comments.  
**SShun:** Really?  
**Naru:** Nope. But you still can write them if you like.  
**SShun:** …

**Rev: Naruto/Hinata rocks. Naruto/Sakura sucks. You'd do well to remember that.****  
Naru****:** …Really?**  
SShun** **&** **Shika:** _*nods*_**  
Naru****:** _*takes notes*_ why though? I like Sakura-chan  
**SShun****:** trust me. _*Shows Naruto Shippuden pics of Sakura and Hinata*_**  
Naruto****:** _*tears of happiness*_ I'm so glad you're writing this fic.**  
SShun****:** I know right?**  
Shika****:** What about me?**  
SShun****:** Well you get to choose.**  
Naru****:** How come I don't get to choose?**  
Shika****:** 'Cause you're an idiot.**  
Naru****:** Shut up Shikamaru! So really why can't I choose**  
SShun****:** 'Cause you're an idiot.**  
Naru****:** …  
**SShun****:** Anyway here pick one of them.**  
Shika****:** _*reads script*_ … I hate you. I really do.**  
SShun & Naru:** _*laughs*_**  
S****Shun:** seriously though, even if you don't like the paring, it's not like it's going to take the spotlight or something.

**Rev: So… ****Rasengan?****  
Naru****:** Jeez, so many reviews about Rasengan, you'd think it's the only thing I'm good that.**  
SShun** **& Shika:** …**  
Naru****:** Hey! That's not the only thing I'm good at, right?**  
SShun****:** _*whistles*_**  
Shika****:** _*coughs  
_**Naru****:** …bastards.

**SShun****:** Anyways, it's coming, but please stop asking. You'll see ot when the chapter's out, trust me. Oh! and let me know if you like my new version of Rev&Rep.

[*] More info on sites dedicated on Naruto like leafninja.


	29. Conspiracy

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **KeiGinya**

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

**29. Peacemakers: Conspiracy**

_**Shikamaru has won**__** the fight… sort of – but will it help prevent the war?**_

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

Goichi returned to his room tired from the events of the day. According to his boss, he had to find occasions to hinder the negotiations, but he'd never imagine it would the Suna diplomat that would give him the opportunity to do so. He was worried though; that Sand kunoichi looked like she wanted to kill the boy – there had been no talk of killing as far as he was concerned. He just hoped it was only an impression.

He jumped when he saw that his room was already occupied. Opening the lights, he saw two of his protectors comfortably settled in his room. He let out a breath of relief when he realized he was safe – and them too of course. And that was all it took to turn his relief into anger.

"What are doing here?" he demanded.

"Just a question," said the black-haired Chunin.

"And a warning," added the Genin.

"Were you sent here by Genta?" asked the former.

The question badly startled the man. Seeing this, the Chunin sighed and massaged his temples. "I'll take that as a yes," he mumbled.

The Genin right next to him rubbed his hands together. "Right, warning then: if, in _any_ case, there is a war between the hidden villages of the Sand and the Leaf, you _will_ become the first unfortunate casualty."

As they left him there, terrorized, he heard the Nara say, "You're getting better on the fox eye thing."

_And here I was worried about their well being, __the man though__, maybe I should go with 'plan B' after all._

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

The next day would be the official beginning of the negotiations – or as Shikamaru liked to call it, the start of their break. Naruto was not looking forward to this part of the mission. "Seriously, who in their right mind would want to spend countless days simply… talking?" he had whined. And they expected him to stay still and shut up, too.

The blond behaved like it was going to be the Apocalypse.

As Shikamaru and the rest of the team were escorting the Konoha diplomat, they met their homologues in front of the familiar hotel. The people from Suna wore neutral expressions, except Temari – though her leg was bandaged, she flashed a feral grin at her new rival. The Chunin, who was apparently spacing out until now, blinked twice before his face returned to his natural indifference.

"Before the meeting I have something to say," Yugao said, gathering the attention of every one present. "We haven't decided on what my subordinate would get for his win."

Temari frowned. "And why should we?" she challenged.

"Because shinobi don't fight for nothing," the ANBU replied coolly. "Besides, this match was the Sand's idea. Needlessly putting the life of one of our shinobi in danger – naturally, Sunagakure _must_ have thought of the proper kind of compensation."

Temari sneered at her, but the young Nara ignored them both and turned to the woman's captain instead. "Baki; how good are you at wind-type ninjutsu?"

The expression of the Jonin remained neutral. "That is a question I am not liberty to answer to you."

Shikamaru smirked. "Good, that means you're good enough." Baki twitched almost imperceptibly, if Shikamaru noticed, it did not matter; he already knew Temari was a wind user. Everything would work out the same in the end. "I will let you know what I expect from you, captain," he said nonchalantly.

The Sand team left. Yugao eyed her subordinate. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

Shikamaru shrugged in reply. "Don't worry; Naruto hasn't learned any wind jutsu from Konoha except the Breakthrough technique," he assured her. The Chunin walked towards the entrance of the hotel first, but stopped, letting his shoulders drop.

"Will you stop giving me that stupid look! It's damn troublesome," whined the young genius. "What did I ever do to you anyway?" he asked Shino.

"Nothing you've done for Naruto," chided the bug user.

The Chunin gave his friend a strange look. He quickly snapped out of it. "Uh… you're a wind-type user too?" Shino shook his head. "Thought as much," he concluded. "Nothing else they do would be compatible with our own training – Naruto might actually benefit from this, so why shouldn't I take advantage of the situation?"

The Genin said nothing but kept staring.

_On second thought, maybe I should get shades instead,_ thought the shadow user,_ I have no idea about the look he's giving me – and they aren't too obvious either. _He shrugged and opened the door.

"Man, you're really troublesome, you know that?"

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

As Naruto had dreaded, diplomatic discussions were the worst kind of soporific. The negotiators were arguing for the most ridiculous details – Who cared about the trade of sake? What about joint missions? Furthermore, they were talking about other villages besides the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand.

The more time passed, the less Naruto understood – and there was nothing more boring than nonsensical boredom. He wondered how the others took it. Interestingly enough, Shikamaru wasn't sleeping, instead he looked in deep concentration, and so did their ANBU leader.

"Did you pay attention?" The Chunin asked.

Naruto shrugged. "A bit," he replied before asking, "Shikamaru, why haven't they talked about anything important?" The Nara heir looked at him inquisitively so he went on. "You know, like how to protect the villages within the territory, or how to set a joint mission system, or maybe a quick communication channel. They were only talking about the details."

Shikamaru snorted, though there was in twinge of amusement in his eyes. "Actually Naruto, from a politician's view point you have your priorities reversed."

Naruto was flabbergasted. "—The Hell?"

His partner grinned. "Don't forget, Naruto. This isn't only about the Hidden Leaf and Sand."

"It… isn't?" Naruto asked. He was getting more and more confused. Why else would they be meeting if it wasn't only about the Leaf and the Sand? If other villages were concerned shouldn't they have their own delegates coming here and discussing the matter as well? He really couldn't see what other subject could beat the attention of both shinobi villages.

"This is a truce between The Fire and Wind countries," Shikamaru explained to him.

The blond nodded, but the confusion he felt about the whole thing hadn't left at all so he asked, "What's the difference?"

"Well, the difference is the Hokage isn't the leader of the Fire Country." Naruto was starting to get it, but it seemed the Chunin wanted to leave no doubt in his mind. "In other words, there's someone more powerful than the Hokage and, to him, these things matter."

Naruto would never have thought a being existed that could be more powerful than the Hokage. His mind already started to run into wild conjectures, how much strength do you need to be the boss of the whole country? Why wasn't he there when the village was under attack? Could it mean that he was so powerful that his simple appearance could cause incredible destruction? What about the leader of the Wind country? His eyes started to sparkle. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah; the Daimyo," Shikamaru further detailed.

"I see…" _The Daimyo_, thought the Genin, _sounds powerful._ "And how strong is he?" Naruto avidly asked.

The pineapple-haired shinobi looked at him for three seconds and then suddenly laughed. Naruto frowned, waiting for an answer. Eventually Shikamaru calmed down and dried a tear before replying. "He's a weakling."

"_What?_"

"Ironic isn't it?" the Chunin let out, amused still.

Naruto didn't get it at all. That didn't make sense! "But how does he…?"

"Um…" Shikamaru said, already aware of the question Naruto had, "I'd say half of it is being born in the right family, and the other half knowing the right people."

In other words, if even he were to become a Hokage he'd _still_ have someone breathing down his neck? And someone weaker than even his would-be-Genin at that! This was… "But, but…" he let out pitifully.

His friend put an understanding hand on his shoulder. "Unfair, I know. Let's go get some ramen," he suggested.

That news was so disheartening to Naruto that the announcement of ramen almost didn't cheer him up – _almost_.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

The blond was ecstatic. He had finally gotten the Chunin to come and see the fruits of his labor – well, actually, Shikamaru had agreed to come and train with him after the ramen, but that meant he'd had to see, right? So they left for that empty area where Shikamaru fought earlier. So eager was he to show what he came up with that he didn't even let his friend have the time to prepare.

"Hey Shikamaru," yelled the exuberant blonde, "Watch this! [Shadow Clone Jutsu]!"

At once, two Naruto made the seals and started to gather wind elemental chakra into their right hand. Next, the two of them set out to find a suitable target. He settled for a nearly collapsed wall not too far from his current position. By that time his preparations were ready. The Genin and his shadow clone had stabilized their techniques, though the results were vastly different. One Naruto looked like he had cancelled the jutsu once he a clasped his hands together, however a good observer would have noticed his right hand now appeared a bit blurry. The other Naruto's right arm was now engulfed in a tornado, compared to only his hand.

The Naruto with blurry fists smiled. "First one is [Wind Element: Air Cannon]!" he threw a punch aimed at the debris and moment later the leaves at the top were blown away. This Naruto made a fist pump; it couldn't do any kind of damage, but at least his aiming was nearly perfect now.

"And this is the second one! [Wind Element: Tornado upper]!"

The second Genin rushed towards the rest of the wall. Now at striking distance, the blond made an exaggerated uppercut motion, his hand grazing the ground as he rose. A small tornado surged forth, ripping what it could from the wall and sending all that rubble a couple of meters upwards.

"So what do you think?" he asked proudly as he turned to his teammate… only to promptly face fault. He wasn't even watching! Instead, Shikamaru was busy observing a kind of darkish blob on his hand. Curiosity quickly replaced his ire and he trudged towards his partner.

"So what's that?" he asked the Chunin.

Shikamaru let out a sigh. "I dunno yet," he answered.

"You don't know?"

"Well," the Chunin let out hesitantly, "I can at least tell you this: shadow is definitely an element – and a weird one at that."

Naruto looked from the blob to his teammate. "Really? But wait," his eyebrow lowered, "you told me there were only five elements, and this doesn't look like it's a combination like Haku's Ice element either. How come you're so sure?"

That question earned Naruto a genuine smile from the genius. The blond understood the meaning behind it and was glad he was progressing, but he was starting to find the whole catching up thing a little unpleasant. The more he learned, the more questions popped up – like this for example. If it kept on like that, he'd never finish.

"Glad you're taking your homework seriously, Naruto," the young Nara said to gain his attention back. "In any case, it's simple, really," he explained, "I just used what I knew of my shadow techniques and tried to pull off a shadow version of the chidori."

The Genin tried to think it through. If chidori was an element-based technique… well he could see how this was a proof of a new chakra element.

"And it worked?" he went on.

Shikamaru snorted. "You're looking at the result, aren't you?" He then frowned. "Though that's all it's good for really," he said, apparently unsatisfied with his achievement. "Unlike the other elements, shadow by itself has no offensive attributes – it's useless, especially this," he mumbled.

"Oh? What's so special about that version?" Suddenly giddy at the thought of something being special – even if it was useless.

Apparently he wasn't supposed to hear that last mumble because Shikamaru looked surprised for a moment. He reign himself quickly and smirked. "Secret," he said.

Naruto wasn't surprised by the answer – it didn't prevent him from groaning audibly. Shikamaru always kept the good stuff under wraps. What was the genius afraid of? That Naruto somewhat stole his ideas? Well he probably would if the moves he had come up with were really awesome. But that was beside the point – Shikamaru should at least tell him what he was up to or what he was aiming for. Oh well, he'd just have to experience for himself.

"Wait Naruto don't—" he warned, but the Genin already had is hand in the black substance. The blob seemingly attacked Naruto and latched to his hand, prompting the blond immediately to yelp and step away. The blob had other ideas. Naruto was horrified to see Shikamaru's new jutsu creep into his hand. As the darkness faded, Naruto let out another cry – of pain this time.

Shikamaru swore. "Naruto, are you okay?" he asked, but before the blond could give an answer the Chunin was inspecting the hand. "Do you still feel pain?"

Naruto shook his head. He tried to get a feel for his attacked hand again and finally realized what happened: chakra depletion. "Whoa! That thing took all the chakra out of my hand!"

"Come again?" his partner eyed him strangely before saying, "Let's try again – carefully this time. Put as much chakra as you can into your fist."

Naruto grinned, always up for some excitement. He said OK and gathered enough chakra this time for the Chunin to see it. Meanwhile, Shikamaru made some seals and made the dark substance again. The only notable thing the blond remarked was that unlike the other versions of this chakra gathering technique, this one didn't make a sound.

Once it was ready, Shikamaru gave him instructions. "Ok, try to put your hand in again – slowly."

Naruto did as told. As his hand neared the jutsu, the blob leaned towards his hand, drawn by the chakra no doubt. This time, Shikamaru's new jutsu visibly shrank as Naruto fed chakra into his palm.

"I was right," exclaimed the Genin as the jutsu vanished, "that stuff drains chakra!"

Shikamaru nodded. He was smiling. "I guess that thing is not so useless after all. I could definitely use this." He yawned. "Well that's as far as I'm going to go today." He then looked at Naruto. "Now, I'm watching, Naruto – let's see your new moves. Oh, and do show me your progress on the_ other_ two as well."

If demons ever smiled, they smiled like Naruto did right now.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

Hyuga Hiashi observed his eldest daughter across the table. She was busy with breakfast, totally oblivious to the world around her. Hinata looked fine today, which was the reason her father was so preoccupied. The Hyuuga heir was often the object of his meditation – with her being the black sheep of the family and all that. Her progress and future always preoccupied the clan head, but never as much as the three last days.

_How could I do this to her?_ Hiashi wondered.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

_That day Hiashi had just finished sparring with Hanabi and was heading off the training grounds to a meeting when his eyes fell on Hinata. It was late – she was probably returning from a mission. He had hoped no one had seen his girl roaming the hallways but__,__ unfortunately__,__ one of the elders saw both him and his daughter. The head of the Hyuga sighed inwardly; there was now no way out of another 'training session' with Hinata._

"_Hinata.__"_

_From the tone alone, the young heiress knew the direction this conversation was heading because her voice came out subdued. __"__Yes father.__"_

_The distraught father closed his eyes – how he hated that voice! He quickly regained his senses and hardened his gaze. This was only a painful moment, he reasoned; he'd make sure to spend some time with __his __daughter later. __"__Come,__"__ he said. __"__Let us see the fruits of your training.__"_

_Hiashi took his stance and activated his Byakugan. Hinata did the same and took the traditional stance. The head of the Hyuga noted her expression held more confidence than before. Had she mastered a new form? There was only one way to find out._

"_Come.__"_

_His shy girl made a step forward and stopped. Hiashi wondered about the hesitation, when he saw something he never thought he'd see from her during a spar._

**_Is she— is she actually _****smiling****_!_**

_This strange Hinata resumed her advance which__,__ although slower, was also more confident. He didn't know why she was so sure of herself, but he was to find out in the next split second; she was within striking range._

_The next moment was probably the one he'd remember as the scariest of his existence._

_He made a quick strike for her arm – the closest thing within his reach, expecting a block, a dodge or maybe, if she had by some miracle reached Neji's level, a parry followed by a counter attack. What he did not expect however, was for Hinata to twirl around his outstretched hand in a simple fluid motion, immediately going through his guard. Right then, the old veteran of two shinobi wars awakened and reacted on instinct, and the next thing he knew, his daughter was on the ground._

_The worried father used all of his self control not to jump __after__ his daughter. His stomach was twisting into complex knots as his offspring took what seemed eons for him to slowly get back on her feet. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what had just happened, and more urgently, what he had hit her with. What he did know was his own self and his past well – enough to know that during the war, every strike was meant to be lethal, and as such, there wasn't a more horrifying situation than to strike an ally by pure instinct alone. What he saw next was beyond his wildest nightmares: Hinata, coughing blood, due to his own hand._

"_Hinata!__"__ he cried out, but he did not move to her side. The level-headed stare from his earlier audience had pinned him down. Anguish was steadily gaining him from the inside as he tried to steel his outward appearance. Instead he made his tone as icy as he could__,__"__this was not a traditional form, Hinata,__"__ he admonished._

"_No father,__"__ Hinata stuttered, unable to control the shaking of her whole body__._

"_You are dismissed; we will resume this when you actually learn how to fight.__"__ He said._

_The pale girl excused herself and limped painfully towards her room._

_Hiashi was way past the point of being worried sick. _**_To hell with stupid tradition and those insufferable elders!_**_ The panicked father marched towards the only spectator of his thirty seconds of horror._

"_Tell the others__ the__ meeting is adjourned,__"__ he nearly ordered the older family member, who went from smug, to shocked, to outraged faster than it took for Hiashi's already low patience to evaporate._

_"__You cannot postpone a meeting planned by__—__"_

"**_The meeting is adjourned,_**_"__ he repeated to the elder, and this time the other man understood – this was not a request, a demand, nor an order; it was a threat. The older Hyuga gulped, nodded, and promptly left, leaving Hiashi to rush to his daughter._

_He found her sitting on her bed, clutching her chest and breathing restlessly, but with a faint smile – she wasn't coughing blood anymore. She probably thought the worst had past._

"_Hinata, let me look at you,__"__ he let out urgently._

"_I'm fine father,__"__ she replied a bit tired._

"_No, you are not!__"__ Hinata's father snapped. Her eyes grew wide; this was the first time her father had ever taken this kind of tone in her room. This surprised quickly turned to embarrassment when she saw him unceremoniously pull under her shirt to expose her side and stomach. He ignored her blushing and looked for the telltale bruise. Luckily, he found it a bit under the right ribcage. He let a deep breath of relief; like he had thought, the strike was deadly, but it was one of those untraceable, slow acting ones, meaning he'd be able to stop it before any permanent damage could be done. Three carefully placed finger strikes later, Hiashi eased his daughter into her bed. __"__Rest,__"__ he told her soothingly__,__"__that is an order.__"_

_She smiled childishly at him. __"__Yes father.__"_

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

That had been three days ago. Now the current Hyuga heiress had fully recovered. As he looked over his daughter and reviewed the events of that horrible day, he had the impression that he was missing a detail. When he had started his sparring sessions with his nephew, he couldn't remember being so pressed that he had to rely on instinct, as surprising and fast Neji's growth had been. It couldn't be that she was stronger than her cousin – that kind of change would at least leave some distinct clues. The move she had used… he couldn't quite place it but it wasn't so foreign… The more he thought through it, the more that nagging feeling of a vital clue slipping out of his reach increased. Giving another long look at Hinata, he wistfully remembered her mother and then—

"Hinata." The girl snapped her head up to meet Hiashi's gaze. "During our earlier spar I noticed your opening step looked… familiar."

She hesitated before replying, a bit startled since things were rarely discussed during meal times. "Yes, father," she replied. The Hyuuga heiress lowered her head a moment before mumbling almost inaudibly. "that was the 'Gale of Blossom'."

His eyebrows lowered. "What are you talking about, Hinata? That's—" Hinata blushed for her sole answer and his brows shot up. Hanabi was avidly watching, going from him to her sister, trying to not miss a beat of this new, but completely welcomed morning drama.

"You went into your mother's room," he stated.

Something clattered on the table. He watched the chopsticks Hanabi had dropped. He couldn't blame her reaction; not even he had stepped into that room since… And yet from the crimson shade of his eldest daughter and her guilty nod it appeared Hinata had been the bravest of the three of them. Naturally, the conclusion produced itself.

"You studied the traditional dances?"

Hinata nodded again, becoming even redder.

For a while Hiashi said nothing. He lost himself in a time not so distant, yet forever out of his reach. He remembered how she loved to dance for him. For their daughter to pick that up and transform it into a fighting style… was this fate? His gaze returned to his two daughters who were now sharing worried glances and looking at him with concern.

"How are your forms?" he asked all of sudden.

Hinata stared incredulously, her kid sister following suit. Remembering the question she looked away sheepishly. "They are… well…" she managed.

"I will have arrangements made for you to have a dance tutor," he told her and this last statement must have been too much for his daughters because their jaws dropped. Hinata finally closed her mouth and tried to say something… anything actually, but sound wouldn't come out; Hanabi on the other hand dropped the chopsticks she had just picked up. Hiashi did not laugh at the scene, he simply raised an eyebrow. "If a Hyuga possesses a past time, as futile as it is, he or she shall perform their utmost best at it," he said

His daughters visibly relaxed, happy to see he hadn't gone senile yet – he was still the apparently stern, loving man he always was – and following this little incident the rest of the meal did not stray from the usual routine.

The Hyuga girls grabbed their weapons and excused themselves, but Hiashi had other plans for this morning.

"Hinata? A moment of your time."

The puzzled girl followed as her father led her through outdoor training grounds, into the clan dojo, and finally pushed the sliding door leading to his private training space open. She entered and he closed the door behind them.

"We shall have a spar," he announced without preamble, "a real one."

Hinata had already figured that much according to the stance she had taken. "Yes father," she answered with assurance.

And they were off – albeit more carefully as Hiashi now realized he was tackling a new taijutsu style. Prodding his daughter with quick textbook strikes sounded like a good plan – it wasn't. The first strike was deflected in such a way that if Hiashi wasn't Hiashi, he would be on the floor right now. It took him less than a split second to regain his footing and try again, only for a similar experience to reoccur. Each of her parries were aimed to knock off balance her opponent, each dodge moved her right in the range of the adversary, ready to strike as her foe tries to regain footing – if he isn't already on the floor. Yet the most striking aspect of Hinata's new style was all these counters, parries and evasion flowed gracefully from one another – like a dance.

Hinata's father stopped the spar, having seen enough. His daughter's face was red and filled with sweat, bruises visible where Hiashi's few blows had landed. They bowed and Hinata waited, playing with her fingers – the first sign of her usual nervousness.

"Hinata."

"Yes."

Hiashi paced, his look beyond his daughter. "When I first saw Neji coming up with techniques taught only to the main branch on his own, I wondered if maybe it would have been better if I had been born second."

He looked at her, but she wasn't looking back. Perhaps she thought he had been ashamed of her. Perhaps he had been then.

"Today I got my answer." She looked up, ready to face his verdict.

"Do you know what you did Hinata? You found yourself unable to progress on the path of tradition. You could have resigned to your fate and abandoned the title of heir to a more talented person. You could have valiantly struggled to overcome your weakness and become the heir doomed to always be compared and frowned. You chose the hardest road of them all; you chose a different path – your own – and what you found, you used it to honor tradition."

Hinata's stare intensified. _So much hope in those eyes,_ Hiashi thought sadly. For so long she was looked down upon and he knew it would take a lot of refinement and time to find acknowledgment from the elders. He had been the first to think the form he had always known was perfect for the Gentle Style, but these moves could shape up to be as equally effective. And it was his daughter of all people that had found it.

"That's something to be proud of, lady Hyuuga, because I certainly am."

Her smile filled with happiness was more praise and thanks that he had ever needed. She bowed again.

_A branch member with a genius found only once in a generation and an heir aiming to reinvent the Gentle Style. It seems I__'ve definitely found __an__ answer to my question. _He watched her retreating back and smiled. _I'll be leaving the future of the Hyuuga clan in their hands._

**Meanwhile…**

"Come on, Sakura; you can do better than this!"

The pink-haired kunoichi focused and tried again. A few seconds later, she was finally able to get out of Kurenai's famous tree entrapment jutsu.

_Yes!_

"Excellent Sakura. You're getting to be a quick learner. A few more months of this and you'll be able to call yourself a proper genjutsu specialist," acknowledged her temporary tutor.

Sakura nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Kurenai-sensei."

The Jonin looked at the position of the sun and let out a breath. "Time's up, Sakura; I'll see you in two days," she said and with that, she disappeared.

Left alone, Sakura was still smiling, a fierce determination burning in her eyes. _I'm getting stronger… good. _Her eyes turned in the direction of the gates._ Wait for me Sasuke – you'll see I'm a worthy partner… and maybe something more_. She thought blushing, before her eyes began to burn again. _Naruto… I'm looking forward to your return as well. You and I are going to have a _**_talk_**_._

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

The last days of discussion were ending and Shikamaru was finally starting to breathe easier. The mission was practically over, after all. No major incidents, no life-risking situation – not more than usual anyway – all in all, this would probably remain the easiest S-Class mission for years to come. Surprisingly, the Sand Siblings had behaved themselves. Not a bad bunch when you got to know them – at least when it came to Kankuro – he'd never risk being in a room alone with either of the other two.

However, these diplomatic discussions were taking their toll on Naruto. The blonde had made incredible effort to remain a silent vigil, yet Shikamaru remembered the times where he had used his shadows to either wake up the Genin, or restrict his movements. Judging by the way his friend blinked every three seconds, Shikamaru guessed today would be the former. Naruto, probably to prove him right, yawned loudly only moments later.

Shikamaru frowned. Even Naruto's yawns were unbelievably loud. So loud in fact, that it got the attention of the Konoha diplomat who looked amused.

"Bored?" he asked innocently. He turned to his homologue apologetically, "I'm sorry. This must be his first time on a guard duty. I suppose it differs somewhat from his usual life threatening situation."

The Chunin's brow lowered even more.

"If that's the case," continued Goichi, "I have a suggestion." At that even Naruto frowned. It seemed neither forgot that same line led to fight between Leaf and Sand that could have ended very badly. "How about a joint mission?" he suggested.

Everyone was paying attention – it seemed that Konoha diplomat had actually come up with a good idea.

"Go on," encouraged the Sand negotiator.

"Nothing too complicated, really," explained Goichi. "You see on my daily way here my eyes fell on some kind of notice board. I saw all kinds of things there, from announcements to wanted posters. I'm sure both villages would benefit from some bonding time after that dreadful fight." There was nothing Shikamaru could find against the suggestion. In fact, that was a good idea. Shame the one to come up with this proposition was a confirmed Genta agent.

"And who would remain to assure our well being?" asked his homologue.

"Why, My ANBU, of course! And I think Baki is more than enough to keep you safe."

It was Baki's turn to reply. "Surely you're not thinking of sending only Genin on—"

"Ah, but you see," countered the diplomat, "Shikamaru here is a Chunin."

_Well that certainly came back to bite me in the ass,_ thought said Chunin. _I wonder if that's the real reason for my presence here._

"Hmm I don't really see a reason why not," mused the Sand diplomat. "Very well; one mission," he argued, "Nothing long, nothing too dangerous."

"We have come to an agreement then." Shikamaru was about to protest when Goichi simply waved them off. "Run along now children – let the adults take care of the important stuff."

Shikamaru snorted disdainfully, before exiting the room, quickly followed by the rest of his peers.

"So mister Chunin," asked Temari, staring at his Chunin vest, "what do we do now, huh?"

The young Nara didn't even dignify that with a response. Seriously, how did Naruto do it with Sasuke? A rival to compare and bicker with at the slightest occasion, jealous of your every progress – how could he not find that tiresome, if not extremely troublesome?

The new joint team found the somewhat large notice board, not far from the bazaar. And true enough, a large quantity of job requests and announcements were pinned on the grey – wall really; it was hard to see when the board ended and where the equally dull-grey back of the city hall started. Shikamaru scanned the wall, looking for the one with the highest success rate. Many looked easy enough, but required trips outside of town going anywhere from three days to a week. Those on the bottom needed guards against thieves… bad idea considering the ambush from earlier— Ah! There, the perfect task.

"How about this one?" he asked hopeful.

Naruto snatched the noticed excitedly "Oh! what's that?" he asked only to return a blank expression to the Chunin. "You want for the six of us to go hunting for a _cat_?"

"Naruto, may I remind you—"

But he was promptly ignored by the rest of them. "Hey, there's a man requiring guards against assassins," Kankuro said.

"Requires too much time," Shino argued.

And they went on and off about the different notices in front of them. While they were arguing and Shikamaru was thinking how the earlier bad feeling had suddenly raised a tone higher, a jaded-looking man came and pinned his own poster. Immediately the group surrounded the simple looking poster. Not much was written on it really: "Urgent Help needed, good pay, seek Suichi for details." The contrast between the ad's stress and the man's almost indifferent gaze was striking. _Well I don't think we need to waste even more time to find this __'Suichi'__ person right? Moving on._

How he only wished that could be true!

"Hey, mind telling us where we might find Mr. Suichi?" the blonde Jinchuriki asked.

"You're talking to him," replied the man.

"No offense, but you don't look the type to be in dire need," Temari said, sizing the man up.

He gave her a narrow look before answering, "Believe me kid, I am. I'm also what you call a realist: I'm not even expecting people to respond."

This intrigued Naruto to the highest point, to the Chunin's displeasure. Yet it was Kankuro who argued back.

"How about you give us details, and we'll be the judge of that."

"Sorry, this ain't a task for kids to do." Suichi answered, shaking his head. "I knew I should have put 'high risk' somewhere," he mumbled.

This behavior irked or angered everyone except Shikamaru. And how could he get offended really? Unlike the last mission, this man didn't even know they were Shinobi – and for a good reason – he had them walk around town as civilians, after all. It worked; they were now treated like teens, meaning they would definitely end up with something safe. Of course Naruto had different ideas.

"Oi, geezer don't you—"

"Naruto. Don't push it," interjected Shikamaru, "Let's just pick another one and get out of here."

The prospect client nodded approvingly. "You should listen to your friend there kid, he's…" he stopped, giving the pineapple-haired boy a second look. His eyes brightened in recognition. "You're a shinobi, right?" he finally, exclaimed, "I'd recognize that vest anywhere. Are you the leader?"

_That vest will be the death of me, _though the Nara, yet that wasn't why he was frowning and sighing right now.

"For the moment," he answered after a while.

"Well that changes everything," Shuichi said with a smile, "I might get back my deed after all."

Suichi promptly led the teens to his house, situated in the middle-class part of town. There he explained his problem. The man had a deed to a land out of the country. It wasn't worth much, but since that land belonged to his ancestors, it had sentimental value. In fact, so precious it was he never told a soul about it. Unfortunately, Suichi has that bad habit of drinking and one night, insulted about being called poor, claimed to whom ever wanted to listen about that piece of paper. Surely enough, the deed was gone about a week later. His suspect: The Scorpio Gang, the local mob. Problem is they work for one Osamu Sanada – the most powerful man in town; once the deed falls into his hands, there will be nothing to be done.

"That's where I need the help," explained Suichi, "The Scorpio doesn't deliver the goods directly to Osamu. He usually slips in their lair incognito to take what important valuables he fancies. It's happening in three days. How don't care how you do it, I just want my deed back."

Shino, ever the practical, asked, "Where's the Scorpio gang lair?"

"About a day's walk from the village, there's a forest to the north-east. Crossing the forest you'll come up to some sort of small mountain. Their hideout's in the cave; can't miss it really."

"The payment?" Kankuro this time.

Suichi pondered on that before he said, "Tell you what I don't usually deal with ninjas, but we can always negotiate – after you bring me back the deed. I can always give you 500 ryo up front, What do you say?"

"We'll take it! Right Shikamaru?"

_This isn__'t going to end well, __thought the Chunin tiredly__._

"Right."

_Troublesome._

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

**Meanwhile...**

"Have the shinobi accepted the mission?" asked Goichi.

"Yes sir."

"Good, inform Lord Genta at once."

**Elsewhere miles away from the Wheat village**

"Are Hideyoshi and his crew ready?" inquired the staff wielding boss.

"Yes," answered a metal-armored shinobi.

The older man simply grinned.

**And Back in Konoha**

"Is everything working so far?"

"Yes." Answered a shady Leaf shinobi.

"Very well then," answered Genta's mysterious partner.

_**Watch out for the Triple Threat, Team Oblivion! At least you're not alone.**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: ****I think I'm not good at writing during the summer, but hey, at least it's not like last time, right? Anyways, as usual I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Everybody gets some next time. And now without further ado The Review and Reply…**

******Or part of it anyway, since they are starting to get quite long. I'll leave the start here, but you can read the rest in the review section of last chapter – chapter 28.**  


**SShun:** Hey guys how are you—  
**Naru:** _*Missile drop kicks Shun*  
_**Shika:** _*Elbow drops Shun*  
_**SShun:** _*groans*_ what the hell was that for?  
**Naru:** Do you have ANY idea what I've been through while you were gone?  
**Shika:** Some of these fics are beyond troublesome.  
**Naru:** You know how many of those paired us together, huh?  
**Shika:** You know how many of those were just love stories?  
**Naru:** You know how many of those were just plain bad?  
**Shika:** You know how many of those were… highschool fics  
**SShun & Naru & Shika:** _*sudders*  
_**SShun:** Fine, I'm sorry. But it wasn't that bad. How about all the other good fics? I know there were – I read them  
**Naru:** Well that's true.  
**Shika:** It's still troublesome… wait… you were _reading_?  
**Naru:** _*glares*  
_**SShun:** So? Wasn't it the reason I came here in the first place?  
**Naru**** & Shika:** …  
**SShun:** So are we doing this review, or should I start writing a lemon involving the two of you?  
**Naru:** Y-you wouldn't, right, Shun? You don't write lemons or Yaoi, remember?  
**SShun: **Well… I don't know… you just kicked me in the face and all. I could always commission it.  
**Naru: **_*whimpers*  
_**Shika:** _*shudders*_ …right let's just get on with the reviews.


	30. The Deed

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**30****. Peacemakers: The Deed**

_**A new mission: Team Hidden Leaf and Sand, Go!**_

And they were off. The joint Hidden Sand and Leaf team left a little while after their meeting with Suichi – apparently, Shikamaru had errands to do. A civilian day's travel hardly meant anything for them, but they would have to arrive by nightfall if they wanted to have the effect of surprise. When they reached the forest with time to spare, the group decided to walk the rest of the way. That didn't sound too bad for Naruto except—

"Hey."

The blond nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around to berate his friend. "Damn it, Shikamaru! That's the third time you did that."

"Sorry, sorry," he said in a tone that meant the opposite, "simply wanted to make sure you knew we were almost there."

"How do you keep doing that, anyway?"

It was indeed the third time the Chunin dropped in on Naruto without him being aware in any way. He had no idea how the shadow user was doing so, and it was seriously starting to annoy him. One moment he was there, the next he simply vanished, not a sound or anything. In fact, this time he realized Shikamaru had only been walking behind him the whole time. That could only mean one thing in the Genin's mind.

"Is it a new jutsu? What kind of attack is it?" inquired the blond.

Shikamaru's bored expression changed to become slightly annoyed. "It's not an attack, Naruto."

"Boring," Naruto said dramatically before grinning. "Just kidding. So, what is it then? A defensive technique? A genjutsu?"

His partner gave him a look. "And since when do you care about those?"

That got a snort out of Naruto. It wasn't because he only focused on attack techniques that he neglected the value of everything else. Or else how could he have come up with his masterpiece – the Harem technique? He just needed less of those and more of the flashy, awesome techniques – like the ones he was currently coming up with.

"Well I don't really care about it, but a new move can never hurt right?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Naruto didn't let up. "So? What kind of move is it?"

The Chunin smirked. "I'll let you figure that out."

A groan. "_Why_ do you keep on doing that? I'm your freaking teammate here! I'm supposed to know, you know."

"Because a smart enemy won't be telling you about his jutsu. You have to learn how to figure out things by yourself."

"Hey! Knock it off, you lovebirds!" a voice yelled behind them.

The concept was so foreign to Naruto that his brain froze for a second. "W-what the hell, Temari!" he finally spluttered.

"Jealous?" Shikamaru asked, totally unaffected by the banter – or the horrified expression of his partner.

Temari snorted. "As long as you don't cry like a girl next time I kick your ass." The kunoichi backed off to rejoin her team. When she saw her teammates staring at her she glared at them, as if daring them to comment; Kankuro snickered.

"You know, you don't have to be jealous – I'm sure the blond and the pineapple won't mind you joining their conversation." Her brother swiftly dodged her annoyed fist before chuckling next to Gaara, who was still observing the duo.

"They are close," the latter simply said.

His brother nodded. "Yeah," he mulled over his answer before adding, "That's odd though – weren't the cocky Uchiha and that pink-haired girl his teammates? He used to hang around them all the time and it kind of didn't look like those guys." _Actually, it looked like Naruto was a constant embarrassment. Then again, the guy __**was**_ _an annoying loudmouth._

"Well, something changed, obviously," remarked the Wind user.

Kankuro shrugged. "For the better if you ask me."

Gaara did not comment. _I wouldn't be so sure about that._

A bit behind, a certain bug user was wondering if being less susceptible and reclusive would help with his social life.

He shrugged the thought away. Where would be the fun in that?

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The lair of the Scorpio gang was right where Suichi had directed them. Past the forest was a sort of plateau rising for a hundred meters at least. Unfortunately, the cave they were looking for had its entrance on the other side of the plateau, giving the Scorpio Gang the advantage since the other side of the rocky formation was practically barren. One could find hiding spots behind the boulders that must have fallen from the plateau or the few crevasses.

Naruto was in one of those holes, trying to get an idea of the number of thugs there were to face and stopped when his estimate went over forty. And that wasn't counting the people probably inside the cave. The blond sighed – looks like sneaking in was definitely out of the question.

"Looks crowded."

The Nine Tails container stifled the curse on his lips and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, it does." He paused, took another breath and hissed, "Shikamaru, if you do that to me again, _I swear_—"

"Last time, I promise," apologized the cheeky Chunin. "Come on, let's go."

The two of them headed for the forest where they could discuss their plan away from their target's notice. The others had already come back from their own scouting and were waiting for them. He glanced at them all before asking, "Naruto, how about we start with you."

The blond shrugged. "Not much to say, really. We're definitely not going from the front; too many of them outside, not to mention what could be waiting for us inside."

Shikamaru nodded. Kankuro spoke next. "There's another entrance not far from here."

"Less guarded – only one guard. I suspect they are connected," added the pupa bug user.

Naruto was relieved, He liked being flashy and stuff but, not so long ago, he and Shikamaru had underestimated non-Shinobi criminals before and almost paid dearly for it. He was all for the sure-fire way now. Apparently, Shikamaru shared his view as well – for other reasons, of course. Naruto nearly scoffed at that – a lazy ass would remain a lazy ass. Yet, something kept nagging him about the whole situation. Something familiar… something—Naruto slammed his hands together in realization.

"Of course! Man, how I could I've missed that?" Others were giving him a strange look so he promptly explained himself. "I remember this mission. Guys, we should attack from the front – the backdoor is the real trap. I'm sure if you look hard enough, you'll find more thieves hidden around."

If the confused stares were any indication, his obvious thinking wasn't so obvious.

"Come on kid!" Kankuro said, "Me and Bug Boy nearly waltzed in the back entrance – we're talking about thieves here."

"But I'm sure I know this!" he boldly protested, "The rest of them will be hiding in higher altitude, and the inside will be filled with traps and if you trigger or disarm them they'll all be alerted and then we'll all be caught."

They simply blinked at him. Naruto couldn't blame them really – even to his own ears it sounded weird. Predicting their intentions and traps like that, he sounded like some kind of seer. In any case, he knew he was right. The emplacement, the caves… everything just _fit_. Finally Shikamaru voiced the question everybody else had.

"What _are_ you talking about, Naruto? Seeing something we're not?"

"Yeah! It's like the perfect replica of one of our problems at the Ninja Academy – the thieves, the cave, everything. Even the number of guards at the front and back are about the same!" The Chunin blinked, while everybody else groaned or sighed. "Look, I know it sounds stupid, but everything is set up exactly as my book, that must mean something, right?" he asked pulling said book.

Kankuro shook his head a wry smile on his face. "Listen kid, just because some things sound the same—"

"Naruto, pass me your book."

Everyone was now looking at Shikamaru like _he_ was crazy. Naruto simply took it as someone actually being on his side for once. Usually the Uchiha was against him and Sakura, well… He simply beamed at his teammate and gave him the academy notes.

"What! Don't tell me—"

But the Chunin shushed him as he skimmed through the particular exercise. "Kankuro," he finally said, "check the higher grounds behind the second entrance. Shino, send your bugs inside the second entrance – pretend we're dealing with Shinobi here. Check for signs of life – carefully."

The fact that Shikamaru asked Shino to be careful twice put Naruto on alert. Could they be dealing with more than thieves? That didn't make sense – they behaved like typical bandits… or maybe that was the problem. The Genin shook his head – Shikamaru's reaction bordered on paranoia. He'd just have wait and see about it. Fortunately, things didn't take long – Kankuro came back from his little recon about the same time Shino showed up.

"So?" asked Shikamaru.

Kankuro was the first to answer. "Naruto was right – there are about twenty more of the thieves about half way up the rocky plateau."

Temari blinked. "Huh. Well, who would've thought?"

"Shino?" said the Chunin focusing on the deed to be done – or stolen.

"Not a trace of life within the corridors. The chances the path is trapped are very high."

If Naruto hadn't kept his gaze on Shino he would have missed it, that subtle nod. It must have contained some kind of message because Shikamaru started to massage the bridge of his nose. And having spent enough time with his companion from Team 8, the blond was quickly able to figure something was up with him as well. _Is there something __I'm__ missing?_ Didn't make sense though – the crisis had been averted after all, thanks to a stroke of luck and his awesome memory.

"So the kid was actually right, huh? Guess we lucked out," admitted Kankuro good-naturedly. Naruto pumped his chest importantly.

"Troublesome."

"Something wrong?" asked the puppet user, clearly not expecting that answer. "We just need to follow the solution to his booklet and we'll get our hands on that deed in no time."

"That's exactly what's troublesome about the whole deal," the Chunin retorted.

Temari agreed. "I'm with the lazy ass on that one. Something's not right."

Kankuro simply shrugged. "So what's the plan, then?"

Shikamaru thought it through. In the end, he came up with nothing but a sigh. He muttered "troublesome" once more before facing Team Sand and bluntly announcing to them he'd wanted to talk to his team in private. The tension rose significantly – still, the Sand Siblings only looked at each other and left shortly after. However, the Chunin clearly wanted to make sure none would eavesdrop because he waited a full minute even after the trio had left before speaking again.

"Shino?"

The bug user spread out his bugs and nodded when he made sure no one else would be able to spy on them.

"I guess we're not dealing with thieves anymore, huh?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru nodded tiredly. "Yeah, think about it – there's too much of a coincidence here."

Well yeah, he kind of figured that out on the spot. It was too perfect. What kind of thieves followed the rules – to the letter at that? And to use the formation in that book of his, you would _have_ to know about it in the first place. _But that meant…!_ Naruto could feel a headache of his own coming. But he should have had seen that coming, the bastard was the one who sent them on the diplomatic mission in the first place after all.

"Genta?"

"Genta."

"Who's Genta?" inquired the Aburame Genin.

The Head of Council had been mentioned enough times as bad news for Shino to be legitimately curious, so Shikamaru obliged. "Someone in the council who doesn't like Naruto," he briefed. Naruto noticed he hadn't mentioned Genta hated him as well. Probably wanted to make it seem less than what it truly was. He guessed that was the best way to put this. Since the big secret had been out for a while, Shino quickly put two and two together.

"The Kyuubi?"

"Obviously."

"Wait," said Naruto, eager to change the subject. "How can you be so sure it _is_ Genta?"

"Well, the thieves behaving by the book was only the seal on the scroll. There were too many coincidences," answered Shikamaru, "First of all was Suichi."

"I didn't think the meeting was suspicious," Naruto mused.

"Me neither, but with the fact _he hired us_, that's a different story."

The blond tried to think about that. He saw that they were Shinobi and hired them – nothing wrong with that. Same happened with the other village last time. Of course Suichi dismissed the lot of them as kids at first but when he noticed they were ninjas… his opinion changed? That was wrong. Every single time Naruto and his team had approached a client they had been brushed off if not severely underestimated for being teenagers regardless of the Shinobi status. When he voiced his musing Shikamaru nodded approvingly.

"And the fact that he picked up Shikamaru for his vest as opposed to the older Temari and Kankuro further proves his point," added Shino. "Also, looking back, the information concerning the Scorpio Gang was too precise."

Shikamaru snorted, informing them both he had come to the same conclusions. "There are a lot of other details that are off, but I'll leave you with the most obvious one: _do_ remember who suggested this troublesome mission in the first place."

Oh, right. Naruto smacked his head. He should have known the guy wouldn't take the threat seriously. And he even used the demon eyes too. He really needed to learn the art of persuasion.

Still that left them with nothing other than a quite elaborate trap. Genta intended to have the team underestimate their opponents and pay the price for it. And even if they somehow won, they could easily pretend Naruto's little group were attacking their fellow Shinobi, which would be bad for either the Sand or the Leaf shinobi of this joint mission. There was no way to win this, really.

"So we're aborting the mission?" he asked, "After all, the deed is probably fake as well."

The lazy Chunin hesitated before shrugging, "Yeah, I guess."

Naruto blinked. Was that sweat on Shikamaru? The blond narrowed his eyes. The lazy bastard was hiding something from him, and that only meant there was a reason to go in that cave. He glanced at Shino – the bug user returned the look. Naruto's eyes returned to Shikamaru who looked unaffected, except for the fact that the sweat was increasing.

"Hey, Shikamaru," he asked innocently, "what are you not telling us?"

Another minute of an intense stare down by both Naruto and Shino and the genius caved in. "Well it's not like I wanted to hide it, but there is something bothering me," he paused purely for dramatic effect, "Suichi is a real citizen of the Wheat Village – take that as you will."

Naruto struggled with what it meant – to his partner's apparent relief – until Shino opened his mouth. "That implies that there could be a deed, then, and that the probabilities that it is a genuine article are high."

Naruto smiled ominously, making the Chunin wince as he approached his friend and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing hard. "Shikamaru you wouldn't try to stop me from a little action, right? Especially when I've been bored since the day we got here."

Shikamaru swatted his arm away. "Jeez, I knew this was going to happen – that's why I didn't want to tell you. You seem to forget three simple things," he said, raising three fingers successively, "if we get caught, we're dead – if we bust in and even one of them recognizes us, we're dead – if we sneak in and steal the scroll and we leave any kind of trace that leads back to us, we're _still_ dead." He let that sink in. "Now, tell me why, again, this isn't a terrible, _terrible_ idea?" He looked from Shino to Naruto and slumped slightly. "You still want to try and get that deed, don't you?"

"Yep – so how do we get it, Shikamaru?"

"I hate you guys," the Chunin replied. He straightened right away and pointed where the Sand Siblings probably were. He then said, "Well, we still have to deal with Team Sand over there."

Naruto agreed. "Whatever we do now, it's our problem."

The three of them nodded and headed in the direction the Sand Siblings had left. They found them in a somber mood making Naruto think things would get worse before they got better. Next to him, Shikamaru looked unfazed. He made a step forward and, immediately, the Shinobi from the Sand shifted into a defensive position. The Chunin shrugged.

"I suppose you figured out most of it by yourself then," he concluded. "That saves us time: you guys are dismissed."

Team Sand blinked before Temari narrowed her eyes dangerously. "_Excuse me_?"

It was Shikamaru's turn to lower his eyebrows. "You want to tackle the Leaf and start a second war _while in your current mission_? You're not that stupid are you?" the tension increased a notch with that remark, which failed to bother Shikamaru. "Obviously you guys have to leave."

A few tense seconds more and the heavy atmosphere suddenly evaporated. Temari glared, but said nothing. Kankuro seemed unaffected and ready to leave. As for Gaara, he gave Naruto a long look. Naruto thought things were settled when Gaara seemed to come to a resolution.

"Why are we dismissed?" he asked.

For a second the blond assumed his friend didn't quite understand the situation, but from the way he looked at Shikamaru for the answer it clearly meant something else. "Because we're staying," Shikamaru replied easily.

"Personal business?" Gaara inquired.

Shikamaru seemed to mull over the question. "…You could say that," he finally answered. Naruto wondered what they were talking about and stiffened when he looked at Gaara – in fact, everybody was looking at the sand user. He looked quite dangerous at the moment.

Kankuro decided to break the silence. "H-hey, Gaara, what's wrong?"

"They're after Naruto."

Kankuro looked from one to another, and then groaned as he slapped his forehead. The blond supposed the Puppet user understood the implication behind the statement. In fact, it seemed everyone was now on the same page and looking at him. Great, he loved being the center of attention. Maybe now that everybody understood, they could skip to the ass kicking part.

"I'm staying," informed Gaara.

"Bad idea."

"The pineapple's right Gaara," Kankuro said, "You could be blamed for starting the hostilities here." But the red head did not care. He tried turning to their older sister. "Come on sis! A little help here?" However judging from her expression she would have done the same thing had Gaara not put his foot down. "Oh, hell! I swear my family is crazy," he whined as he crossed his arms. It seemed he wasn't going anywhere as well.

Naruto was wavering between his gratitude for their good nature and his annoyance for their meddling. They might be helpful, but that meant less Team Oblivion action and therefore less awesomeness. Shikamaru seemed to agree.

"You know it would be easier for all of us if you guys minded your own business," he argued, "I mean, the less people going after them, the bigger the chances we won't be recognized. Hell, here's a better idea – how about we don't try to do something stupid and just go back to the Wheat Village?" He looked at them almost hopeful, only to receive blank stares.

"Just do your hand thingy and tell us what to do, Shikamaru," Naruto said in a deadpan.

The Chunin glared at him half-heartedly. "…Right."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The plan was fairly straightforward. Kankuro, Temari and Naruto would carefully distract the Shinobi at the front entrance. Carefully being the keyword here – they wouldn't be using their known techniques or show their faces under any condition. Shino and Gaara would be doing the same for the group hidden on higher ground and under the same stipulations, but only if necessary in their case. Shikamaru would slip inside and get the scroll. Of all of them, he was the only one with both the stealth and the ability to hide his identity – mostly because of his proficiency with things other than his trademark jutsu.

Naruto and his two partners circled the forest as far as they could before stealthily making their way through the boulders and crevices in front of the cave. Night had fallen and the guards had started to spread out, leaving our frontal assault team a few hundred meters away. They made themselves cozy behind the boulder and weighed their options, which were very little – their main ranged techniques were too recognizable in the case of the two siblings and not usable at this range when it came to Naruto.

"So," said Temari, "the only thing I can do is guide projectiles with my fan. Attacking with my wind attacks directly is too risky." She shook her head, a bit disappointed. "The damage won't be as big as I would want but it'll do. The best thing would be to incapacitate some of them however – to make them think we're the main threat."

Naruto quickly made an inventory of the things he had brought with him. He had both shuriken and kunai. In fact, he had a ton of them thanks to the storage scrolls Shikamaru had made. He also had a ridiculous amount of explosive tags he borrowed from his Chunin partner – the weaker version though; the enemy was still from Konoha after all. He looked around and grinned; these could be quite useful here. Problem was how to drag them here in the first place.

_I guess this is when I do an inventory of all my jutsu_. Besides his usual arsenal, Naruto had two of his new wind techniques down, but both were close range. There were the ones that Asuma had taught him, but the first one, Temari could do better and the other would require direct contact with the enemy – besides, it was more of a containment jutsu. The fireball technique couldn't reach them either… looks like he'd have to rely on his tools and his clones… wait! The containment jutsu…

"Temari, I think I just got a great idea."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The Scorpio Gang members were placidly surveying the area. This looked to be one of those boring nights. The Chunin in charge of the main entrance didn't know why Genta wanted possession of a civilian's land; even less why they had to use the scroll they had worked – so very little – to get. What he did know was the result would him get rid of Konoha's number one threat. Seriously, how they could let that… demon under human skin roam about unsupervised baffled him. The elders appeared blinded by the promise of one day controlling that power. But he had been there. He saw what happened thirteen years ago. How can anyone even _think_ of controlling that natural disaster? At least there was someone with the village's safety in mind.

His musings led him to gaze up. This made him the first one to realize they were under attack.

"Sir, there's fuuma shuriken heading this way!"

Well almost. "Are you sure?" Damn, with the distance he couldn't get a good grasp of the trajectory of the projectiles. Really, from that distance they shouldn't even fall within a hundred meters of the base – er, lair.

"Positive. From angle and the speed I would guess they'll reach us within twenty seconds."

He didn't like this. They were supposed to behave like thieves and take a bit of punishment, but only against the two Jinchuriki and their acolytes. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell since there was nothing else they could see moving. He made up his mind. They would simply have to dodge the giant shuriken. There was probably a second and third salvo coming after, but with that quantity there was nothing they couldn't—

As the first fuuma shuriken approached it suddenly burst into smoke about two seconds before impact, revealing a hail of normal shuriken.

"Shit!"

He was barely able to dodge that last second trap. And to his horror the rest of the fuuma shuriken were behaving just like the first one. After the first wave, four of their own had been injured – from which one was definitely out of commission. And he could already see the next wave of those flying death traps in the distance. And they hadn't even come close to identifying their target yet.

"Retreat," yelled the Chunin.

The rest of the Scorpio Gang hastily backtracked to the entrance, taking the wounded along. The leader remained as close to the opening as he could, trying to gauge how many of those things they were going to deal with. To his surprise the third wave of projectiles never came. _Probably moving in for a direct confrontation._ The answer to his question came when his eyes fell on a small red spot near one of the far out boulders. He yelled for binoculars. What he saw was a scruffy and scarred looking Shinobi dressed in dark red garments. He wore his forehead protector on the wrist, revealing he came from… the Village Hidden in the Mist!

"Damn it! It's not them!" he realized. He gathered his group in order to inform them of the new development. "These are Mist shinobi – as you know they are quite proficient with tools. They're known to be a bit tricky to handle as well. Judging by the volleys of fuuma shuriken, they look to be about twenty. We're heading after them."

Moments later the guard of the main entrance was split in half. The half led by the Chunin were zeroing in on the area where he had last seen that red Shinobi. Two dozen of the enemy Shinobi were retreating, the red Mist ninja at their head. He was most likely the leader. The Konoha Shinobi could see they were gaining on their foes. "Keep up the pace, men," he bellowed heroically… right before seeing one of his soldiers walk right into an explosion.

"Stop! It's a trap!"

But already a few more Shinobi that had jumped ahead couldn't stop their momentum and were caught in what appeared to be mines. The Chunin was forced to call for another strategic retreat. Only this time, their run was accompanied by the dreaded third round of metal rain, this time more numerous. _Tricky bastards._ It seemed their main force was here, which meant they didn't know about the back entrance – they would have attacked there instead.

_Time to call some reinforcements. _

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Shikamaru! I think I scared them shitless! I think you already know but I'm amazed by my awesomeness! Over."

"10-4."

_I guess __it's__ my turn now,_ thought the lazy Chunin. At first, he had thought a simultaneous attack would be preferable, but now he saw the merit in letting Naruto cause his little mayhem beforehand. He closed his radio and silently approached the back entry. He bit back a curse – now there were three guards outside. The other two must have come from the outside. He didn't want to suppose otherwise. Anyway, this would make his little intrusion known one way or another. And he was within reaching distance with his jutsu too. How infuriating.

Using any type of ranged method would be useless now – he was stuck with direct confrontation.

No matter how Shikamaru saw it he only had one shot at this. If at any moment he gave them time to breathe they would be at least able to recognize his build, and then the gig would be up. He took out his vest, switched from a grey shirt to a dark one, and quickly undid his trademark pineapple hairdo in preparation for his attempt. To top it off he wore shades he had borrowed from Shino for the occasion. He would have used a transformation technique, but the jutsu he was about use were not fully mastered at best and untested at worse.

He took a runner's stance to get ready. Talk about a field test. Gazing at his targets, he could see one of them answering a radio call. Good, that would give him the time to go in and out before reinforcements arrived. He once again visualized the sequence of events that needed to happen in his mind. The distance wasn't too big – about twenty meters – he would make it. He definitely would.

_Ready? Go!_

First up was the Body Flicker. He reappeared behind them, the sound of the skidding and dust rising being the only give away of his presence. He'd have to work on that. He seriously wondered why people wanted to be flashy with the technique. If you knew what you were doing you were able to cover a reasonable distance under the enemy's nose and with little to no noise too. Anyway, that was the easy part. Shikamaru had just arrived and the sentries were rapidly turning around. _Time for the second part of the plan._

First off was the Mind Flicker, if only not to move out of the way too fast. He sharpened his senses to the best he currently could. After that was the Body Flicker. He only knew he had activated it when he saw his limbs actually respond to his thoughts. And then, he moved.

A hit to the temple, a chop to the nape of the neck, and a right cross to the jaw – all under a second; not bad.

He backed off to stop the two jutsu and was immediately hit with the backlash. His head throbbed, yet he felt lightheaded. He staggered and tried to regain balance. Bad move. Muscles he didn't even know he had were hurting too. It didn't look like anything that would last more than a few minutes, but he didn't have the time – the first order of business was to take care of the people on the ground, because KO'd didn't necessarily mean unconscious. He force-fed the lookouts with the sleeping drug he had used when Naruto had wounded him. Once he was sure he could safely venture inside, he woozily tiptoed through the opening.

It took a few moments to get used to the dark and awhile more to make sure he wouldn't trip a trap. This was tricky since there were two sets of traps in the cavern – the obvious ones, designed to give the illusion the Scorpio Gang was real, and the very subtle ones not designed to trap more than to alert of an intruder. They weren't impossible to find, but they would have definitely been overlooked had they truly believed they were dealing with thieves only. Of course, he couldn't even disarm them or else it would all be over so he treaded carefully, making sure he used as little light he could and double checking the area before taking a few steps if necessary.

After fifteen minutes of this strenuous navigation through trip wires, log traps, pits, and other niceties, Shikamaru arrived in a somewhat well lit place. He immediately backtracked and hid himself. _When there is light, there is life_, thought the Chunin. Things were getting tricky again – time for that little trick he had tested earlier.

He called it a trick because he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary really – simply recomposing shadow elemental chakra. Like other elements, shadow chakra kept the main property, only greatly diminished. This elemental property was quite something – Shadow _sealed_. Like he told Naruto before, his element had no offensive ability in itself. On the other hand, for a genius like him it was deadly useful. So what did this chakra seal at its base? Anything it could, and what Shikamaru was interested in sealing right now were his hands and feet.

A dark substance surrounded his limbs. He made a step… nothing. Even with his heightened ears there was no hint of sound. He jumped, and even crushed a rock and there was still nothing. He couldn't help but grin. No matter what Naruto thought about flashy jutsu, this was infinitely cooler in his eyes. This little trick had helped him with his rodent homework – in fact, he was carrying a sleeping squirrel in his pocket right now, he noticed. _Stupid homework_.

Shikamaru ventured once more in the light, wary of any alarm or cameras – or traps for that matter, you never know… The Chunin found it pretty well furnished. It was still a cave with rocks and everything, but the light came from electric lamps and rooms were created and locked behind doors made of metal. There was no way they could have equipped this lair just in order to trap a group of rookies. No… this was definitely a hidden base. He had to get out here as soon as possible.

He made a left and wound up in front of an imposing door. It looked like some kind of briefing room. _Dead end. __I'll__ have to retrace my steps_. Before he even turned around he heard something. _Shit!_ The Chunin quickly backed into a corner and tried to find an issue other than the door. Shikamaru had no choice but to drop his chakra and come up with something. This was the only problem he had with his new shadow technique – he couldn't use chakra like this. He couldn't even stick to the walls – he'd have to mold the chakra with another part of his body for that.

Shikamaru focused on their current mission. The only thing he could think of… was the kind of thing Naruto would think. He just hoped the Shinobi coming his way were distracted enough. He made the hand seals and waited. A moment later, two figures appeared.

"This sounds serious, I heard there's a lot of wounded. Thankfully, there were no casualties, but some of them might be out of commission for months."

"Well let's hurry up then, it's not like talking about it will make them leave."

Only a while after the door clicked did the rock that was Shikamaru drop his Transformation Jutsu.

_Well I __can't__ believe that actually worked_. _I guess __I'll__ have to thank Naruto some time_. He reactivated his jutsu and headed in the direction the two had come from. Careful to not stumble on a lookout, he slowly stalked the long corridor to finally arrive at his goal: the storage room. And what a storage room it was. Things were a righteous mess. There was money and all sorts of valuables in every direction. If he hadn't known better, he'd think this was where the bandits hid their stash. By the center of the circular room was a stack of scrolls. _Bingo._

He smiled, but that was short lived. How was he going to get those scrolls? He wasn't stupid. If they weren't any traps or cameras in the corridor, the obvious reason would be because they were all inside that room. So carelessly entering would be suicidal. Using his Shadow Gathering Jutsu could be tricky in this case since it identified him even better than the cameras could. Still those were his only options.

Shikamaru sneaked his shadow inside and suddenly aimed for the closest shadow. From what he could see, they were all connected. So now he became more a matter of what he was going to take. He made his mind, gathered the stolen good and brought them before him. He took the stuff and put them on a scroll right away. With a single seal everything was gone. Shikamaru wiped away a cold sweat.

_Phew! __That's__ done. Now__, let's__ get out of here._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Raimon, the Shinobi in charge of the whole 'Scorpio Gang' thing was pacing back and forth in the surveillance room. So far, things had managed to perfectly go to hell – big surprise there. He remembered warning Genta that ten Chunin and a group of Genin were hardly enough to defend a base. And they weren't even all Shinobi – The Head Counselor had resorted to hire mercenaries to fill up the ranks. That left him, the only Jonin in the area, to lead and coordinate this entire mess.

Now they were supposedly fighting an enemy group that they knew nothing of, aside from the fact they were cunning and had an unearthly obsession with explosives. So far there weren't any casualties, but only because one of the victims had fortunately landed close to the tag and it was the shock that set one off causing a chain reaction. He had sent reinforcements from the group stationed on higher ground but the enemy was nowhere to be found. He wanted to send the Chunin for recon, but the risk of an imminent attack was too great and they had already exhausted most of the mercenaries. Things couldn't get any—

"Sir!"

The man whirled around to meet the eyes of the most important member of the surveillance team – the sensor. "What is it?" he asked dreading the answer. This shinobi was solely focused on the remodeled storage room. For him to come here would mean…

"The storage room has been breached. I'm picking up a chakra signature."

Of course, things could always get worse – he just jinxed it, didn't he? "How many?" he simply asked, ready to interfere.

The sensor hesitated and said, "Well sir, the thing I'm picking is small enough to resemble a small rodent."

That got the Jonin thinking. It couldn't be an accident – no small animal he knew would have been lucky enough to pass through the first part of the cave without meeting the three Chunin he had left guarding the entrance or the traps that filled said part. Definitely sounded like a jutsu. "Can you tell what it's doing from the signature?"

"It appears to be looking for something."

_Just as I __thought__!_ "Good! You two, you're with me," he said pointing to the two Chunin remaining in the cave. "We're going after the rodent." He turned towards the radio team. "Contact the guards of the rear entrance. I want a report on the current situation ASAP." The team promptly left, but there was no one to be found when they arrived. This didn't bode well. He asked through the radio if the small animal signature was still in the room and received a positive reply. _Odd_. Running out of ideas he sent his subordinates inside and waited for bad news. The radio came first.

"Sir, there is still no answer from the guards outside. A unit has been sent to the location."

_Damn!_ And at the same time his Chunin came out of the room looking confused. "Well?"

"Sir the deed is gone along with all of the scrolls. Also missing is part of the money and small few valuables, as well as a small quantity of weapons." Well things had definitely hit rock bottom. "And we found this."

The Jonin looking dumbfounded at the small rodent. "A squirrel…!"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Took you long enough," Naruto said to his partner.

The Chunin didn't even dignify that with more than a snort. He had found them – now he needed to rest as much as he could before they moved out. Time was of essence here because they would surely send a search party after them any moment now. He muffled a groan as he leaned on a tree.

Naruto's eyes followed his every movement apprehensively. "Hey, you hurt somewhere?"

"Try 'everywhere'," he bluntly answered. Since apparently the muscle pain still hadn't subsided – nor his headache for that matter. He had miscalculated – he'd probably have to endure this for days. He definitely wasn't trying that again anytime soon.

"Well, suck it up, lazy ass – we're leaving," Temari barked.

"Hey!"

"She's right Naruto. This is actually the trickiest part – leaving here without a trace. We don't have time to waste because they should be sending most of them after us right now," he said, straightening up. "But we can't go directly back to the village – we'll be heading east for a while. There's a river that way. And the river goes south."

Shino was again the one who figured the rest of the plan. "We're pretending to head towards the Hidden Mist Village."

"Oh yeah, I did pretend I was from the Hidden Mist, didn't I?"

Since there was no opposition to the plan, they set out on the spot. In the end, Shikamaru ended up using pain killers so as to not slow the group down. The pain would return with a vengeance. Oh well – they couldn't afford being caught after going this far.

They cut straight through the open road, taking advantage of the cloudy night as cover. In the morning, they stuck to rough terrain or trees if they could. They arrived at said river by midday. The group took an hour of rest there, headed south for a couple of hours before stopping again, this time in order to completely erase their traces. Now the only thing left was to return to Wheat Village. If they opted to forgo the next night's rest as well, they would probably arrive there by dawn. Unfortunately, by nightfall Shikamaru's muscles could take no more, so they took refuge in the nearest place they could hide in and settled for the night.

Shikamaru was ready to get some shut eye when Naruto came to bother him. "So, since everything is over, can I look at the deed now?"

"… Can't it wait until we get back?"

"But—"

He never got to finish is explanation because Shino came in just then. He let his eyes wander between the two of them before telling them, "We've got company."

Shikamaru got up despite all of his body groaning in protest. _Figures things __were__ too easy. I swear this is __Naruto's__ fault somehow_. He met the rest of the Joint team. In front of their temporary hideout – a small trench covered in dead leaves and branches – and took a good look outside. _Oh, great._

Around them was between twenty and thirty shinobi. Most of them where wielding kunai but their apparent leader had a staff besides him. A scruffy looking man about thirty years old, was eying them like a hunter eyed his prey. Besides his weapon, the fact he was the only one wearing a vest made him stand out. The man smiled.

"For a second, I thought you somehow gave us the slip, but I knew you had to come back to the Wheat Village eventually. Good thing I set up a welcome committee."

"You're too kind," Temari sneered.

The leader made a mock bow before telling his group, "This is the best chance we're ever going to get. _Don't__ screw it up._"

Most of the people around looked nervous before focusing on the teens. A moment later and all of them were covered in metallic armor.

"It's them!" Naruto realized right away.

"Indeed," agreed the Bug user.

"This just keep getting better and better," Shikamaru muttered.

Temari looked at them. "So you know these guys then? Who are they?"

The three looked at each other. "No clue," they all said seriously.

Even Gaara nearly face-faulted.

_**One enemy down; a new one appears. Will the new coalition be able to endure this new gauntlet? Next time Naruto's new Jutsu explodes!**_

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**A/N: ****Hey guys, not much to say about this update. As always I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Next Chapter, lots of ass kicking and Naruto will be using is two new jutsu. Care to guess on what type of taijutsu they're based on? What about the jutsu themselves? Here's a better one; try to find how Naruto performed his little 'metal rain.'**

******Here's your R&R snippet for the chapter, the rest can be found in the review section of chapter 29.**

**SShun: **'Sup everybody. Here's the latest Review and Reply. And today we're doing something new. We're getting the input from the actors themselves about their most recent adventures. So Shikamaru? Naruto?  
**Naru:** Hey guys! Well, I was definitely awesome in the mission and finally I started to kick some ass and will probably get to kick some more next chapter so, all in all I'm pretty satisfied.  
**Shika: ***groans on the floor*  
**SShun:** …What's wrong with him?  
**Naru:** Well he just came out of the chapter so…  
**SShun: **Oh right! Sorry about that, Shikamaru! *waves the pain away*  
**Shika: **Couldn't you have done that _sooner_?  
**SShun:** *scratches head nervously* Sorry I forgot.  
**Shika: **Well tell you what, this chapter sucked. I didn't get taken seriously even once. And how come I'm the only one to end up hurt in the end? I didn't even get hit to begin with. And people ask me why I'm a lazy bastard.  
**Shun**** & Naru:**…  
**SShun**: Well, let's get on with the reviews shall we?

**Rev: Score Board!  
SShun: **Oh a score board. *fist pump* Bring it on!

**_Characterization - 95 (had to get rid of the other 5 cuz I've never seen Shino smirk at all)  
****SShun: **…*tries not to laugh*  
**Naru:** …poor Shino  
**Shika: **nobody seeing smirk doesn't mean he doesn't.  
**Shi****no: **…

**_Plot & Storyline - 90 (for some reason I can't give a 100... no offense though)  
Creativity - 90 (I told you I can never give 100s)  
****SShun: **…The hell!  
**Naru:** What's the point grading something on a 100 if you can't get 100!  
**Shika: **…That actually made sense.  
**Naru:** Not. Helping.  
**Shika:** Right, right. At least give us a half-assed reason… or bump it up to 95.

**_Story Pace - 95 (very nice; not too quick, but not too slow either)  
****SShun: **…I'm going to get to this later  
**Naru**** & Shika:** …?

**_Character Interaction - 95 (I had to separate this from the storyline section - I dunno why... maybe it's cuz I like interaction? Love the humor btw :D)  
****SShun: **I think these two were made to be together.  
**Shika & Naru****: ***shudders*  
**Naru:** …me and that lazy bastard?  
**Shika: **…me and that super-idiot?  
**SShun:** …See what I mean?  
**Shika & Naru****: **Hmph!

**_Personal Opinions!**

**_I'd love to see Shino-chan in Team Oblivion... he fits like he's a piece of the whole puzzle, ya know?  
****SShun: **I'm sure he wants to, but only time will tell.


	31. The Armored Shinobi

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Not Beta so far, but just try not to cringe too much from all the mistakes.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**31. Peacemakers: The Armored Shinobi**

_**From one problem to the next! Just who are these mysterious shinobi?**_

Dozens of shinobi were circling the Leaf and Sand joint team, most of them from the height of the trees. Their metal armor glinted coolly under the moon light. At the center, Shikamaru was doing is best to stop his muscles from twitching every two seconds while the others took their battle stances. The Genin were ready, but none seemed to move because they knew they were in clear disadvantage. Talk about a bad day.

_Of course they couldn't let me get some damn shut eye first! That'd be, you know, __**not**__ troublesome._

Finally tired of this stalemate their leader stepped forward. "Don't think things will end like last time brats – this time you're up against the real deal," he announced quite sure of himself.

Shikamaru looked around and his settled on Temari, who was glaring at him. "You met this lot before," she stated. The boy shrugged. "Yeah… apparently they're _also_ after Naruto." Temari snorted and took out her summoning scroll. "You guys are too flimsy – that's why they're attacking you. After the first few tries, nobody dared to even lift a finger against Gaara."

Yeah, he wouldn't try to touch that psychotic monster back then either. Heck he looked alright now and he _still_ gave him the creeps. His attention quickly returned to vest wearing shinobi as he gave his orders. "Remember the plan," he heard. Yeah, he definitely had something up – last time the three of them managed to totally thwart their attempt against Naruto. But two things were working against them – first was the numbers obviously, second was the fact the armored shinobi never had the time to attack them. Then again, they hadn't faced the new and improved Naruto yet.

The armors raised their arms. Immediately the team prepared to move. A long range attack was most effective if they were all stuck together. The leader raised his arm. "Aim!" he said, and everyone was waiting for the next word that was bound to follow. It never came out – instead he lowered his own arm. Well played, he had to admit. The arms all shifted towards their sole target – the only one that didn't move away, the only one that didn't need to.

"Gaara!"

But the Sand Jinchuriki didn't move and let his sand take care of the long and thick projectiles heading his way… until they exploded that is. Each of the projectiles packed a punch. Not quite to enough to pierce his moving sand defense, but the numbers did their job; by the end of the salvo Gaara had been blown away. But the Sand and Leaf really freaked out when the leader had already raised his hand again and yelled another threatening "Aim!" This time everyone moved towards Gaara who still hadn't gotten up. Everyone except Shikamaru who didn't have time to take some painkillers or even his soldier drug pills since the whole thing started. That's when he realized what their true aim was.

_Well damn!_ Thought the Chunin as he blocked, waiting for the inevitable. The staff wielding shinobi lowered his arm and all armor soldiers were now aiming at him. Smart, very troublesome, but smart.

He then heard a lot of noise as his body rocked back, and then everything went black.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Time seemed to move in slow motion for Naruto. He had first jumped away from everyone, fuelled by adrenalin only to turn back and see his new friend being thrown back by the force of the explosion. He then lunged in his direction to offer support, but as he was in mid air he saw the hands of the enemy shinobi now aimed away from Gaara. _Behind? Who's behind me?_ What he saw horrified him; Shikamaru – barely moving except for the shaking of his arms in what would be hard pressed to call a defensive stance, waiting for the inevitable, with a resigned smile on his tired face.

He turned around and yelled as soon as he could possibly land, "Shikamaru!" but his shout drowned in the chaotic explosions leveling the area before him. Behind him the others looked equally surprised and worried, but Naruto was way past that state of mind now. He anxiously waited for the fire and rubble to settle so he could come to his friend's aid, but the moment he could, he found someone else had gotten there before him. His partner was now lying motionless in the arms of an armored shinobi.

"Oh no you don't, bastard!"

Naruto made the hand seals for a great breakthrough technique, but as he inhaled, his new opponent raised his arm in Naruto's direction. He dodged, opting to go close and personal. As he was within range, he jumped back again, this time narrowly evading the third barrage of explosive instruments. When smoke cleared this time Shikamaru was clearly out of reach, his captor now near the leader of this little ruse.

The brown haired man smirked and snorted victoriously. "The capture was a success, let's move out."

The order given, the enemy shinobi all threw smoke bombs before heading in seemingly random directions. Naruto didn't care – they weren't getting away that easily. He didn't even need to get to the soldier carrying his friend. He would simply follow them to their lair and then… They would meet their maker.

Naruto leapt in pursuit, but sand caught him at the apex of his jump. He whirled in the direction of the perpetrator letting out a menacing growl, "Let me go." But the sand user simply shook his head. "Damn it, don't make me kick your ass again Gaara!" Naruto yelled. He jumped again and sand met him head on. He punched through with his reinforced fist, but the sand simply reform around his left foot and threw him back near the others. The brash blond was ready to lunge against Gaara himself this time when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Seems they left us something," Shino said, calming Naruto a little.

He looked in the direction Shino was pointing and spotted a kunoichi dressed in the same wares as the earlier assailants. Her smug look immediately reignited Naruto's anger. "We won't harm your friend if you give us what we want," she announced from the get go.

"And what do you want?" sneered Naruto? Somehow he already knew the answer.

"Why you of course – you for your Chunin friend. I'll be coming back tomorrow for your reply. And don't you worry I'm sure my boss Yaiba will—"

Her condescending smirk and all her bravado disappeared when the bark of the three behind her suddenly caved in loud cracking noise. She was startled to see the blond outstretching the hand responsible for that little incident right in front of her. _When did he—I didn't see him move! Not even time to cast the armor on._ She involuntarily shuddered thinking that it would fell like to have taken that kind of punch without protection.

"You send a message for the one in charge," snarled Naruto, "If my friend is missing one limb – if even one hair is missing – you will know in _full_ why people shouldn't mess with me."

The kunoichi was so badly affected it took her almost a full minute to get her bearings and slip into the shadows. Naruto dropped from the three and walked towards their temporary hideout. "I'm going tomorrow. And this time _no one_ will stop me," he let out before retiring for the night.

Kankuro reflected on all that had happened until now and came with a solid resolve. "Remind me never to take a mission with you guys ever again."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru woke up in pain, but quite refreshed considering he spent the last twenty four hours awake and in muscle pain. He was far from top shape though – he wasn't Naruto after all. After a small checkup he found he could move – as much as his new found restraints would let him – without too much pain. His head had fully cleared; a big plus. He also verified his reserves and noticed the usual amount of chakra, but most importantly reverse chakra as well. And he hadn't even meditated in the last few days too; it seemed his body finally started to mold the stuff without outside help.

He finally looked up to see three men in front of him; the staff wielder flanked with two armored soldiers. He observed them for a second, found their company too troublesome, and decided he hadn't quite caught up in the sleep department. That was apparently a bad move because he felt sharp pain near his ribs. His head begrudgingly rose again.

"Do you mind, I'm trying to sleep here." That answer got him a punch in the face – punctuated by an admonishing, "Boss!" from one of the guards – that made him cough a bit of blood. He glared at them. "Ain't I supposed to be a hostage here? Seriously you guys should read the manual again – you're not supposed to mess with the merchandise. I should complain to your boss," he added to get a rise of the man in front of him, "Not even a damn bed? Seriously?"

The man in question twitched, signaling he was starting to lose patience. He smiled nonetheless, "You should watch your mouth boy, because I might take out your tongue."

"You won't do that," stated Shikamaru assuredly, "if you're after Naruto and you know _why_ you're after Naruto you won't try purposely to make him mad."

"And why should I be scared of an angry runt and his bratty friends?" 'Boss' retorted

That actually got Shikamaru to lift his head in disbelief. His gaze dropped and soon his whole body shook uncontrollably. The three men looked each other clueless. The next thing they knew, the Chunin was all business-like again. "So, who hired you guys? What does he want with Naruto?" Once again the men before him exchanged looks – of surprise this time.

"I don't how you figured that out, but once we deliver the blond we'll finally be able to get the power needed to get our revenge on Konoha," 'Boss' informed him, "And we might even get a bonus for that red haired sand twerp," he added excitedly. He then punched his captive for the simple fun of it. "Enjoy your stay," he let out in parting.

Shikamaru made sure they were well out of earshot before laughing out loud. The irony of the situation really turned the whole abduction into something amusing. He actually pitied the group of armored shinobi – they had no idea who they were up against. Well he might as well take a nap and wait for all hell to break loose.

_I wonder who hired them in the first place though._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto was a bit more composed the next day. He still hadn't said a word to the rest of his team, instead he moved to the place the kunoichi would return and simply sat there, waiting. He tried his best not to beat himself for what had happened. _It wasn't my fault, _he told himself,_ it was a trap from the beginning; even Shikamaru fell for it_. When that failed miserably he switched to concentrating on what would be happening in a few hours.

He had trouble figuring out if he was focusing or sleeping when he heard footsteps getting louder. After a moment of silence his fellow Jinchuriki said, "I'm coming with you."

Naruto shook his head, "they'll probably prevent you from following us." He then felt sand wrapping around his wrist. "What's this?" he asked as he showed Gaara his new bracelet.

"I'll be following you," answered his companion.

The blond Genin finally met the eyes of his recent friend. "So, what's the plan?"

"We go in, we get your friend, and we make them pay."

Naruto chuckled. "Sounds like my kind of plan."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Yaiba sir, they're coming."

Yaiba, the staff wielding leader of the armored shinobi smirked. "Good. Is he alone?"

"Yes sir."

The man simply smiled and turned towards their little restraining area to get the hostage. He found him sleeping – again. It was aggravating how much a boy could sleep in such a situation. Actually he was impressed the boy was sleeping at all. _Well I'll be damned! – So people __**can**__ sleep standing._ He wanted to rough him up a bit, but from the sound of things, the blond boy could turn into a wildcard if not handled with care. He snorted – there was more than enough time after they had captured their target to give that cocky Chunin what was coming to him. All that he needed from him at the moment was to look alive. He woke him with a backhand to the face.

"Rise and Shine boy, your chaperon has arrived."

The prisoner groaned and mumbled something about waking up in worse ways before – which made Yaiba raise an eyebrow; the guy was hit awake, _from his standing sleep_ – but otherwise the runt remained quite docile. He was rid of the shackles bound to the wall only for his hands to be cuffed with strong chains. Once he was ready, the captive was escorted to the entrance where their target finally came in, his kunoichi Yori in tow.

The blond quickly found his friend and yelled out to him "Shikamaru! You alright?" to which the Chunin answered worriedly, "Don't Naruto, it's a trap!"

Yaiba smiled. Of course it was a trap! But now it was too late to do a damn thing about it. He looked back at Naruto expecting to see him surprised or at least angry but instead he stared blankly at his friend for several moments before slapping his forehead and shaking his head. "You did _not_ just say that," he tried to convince himself.

His partner shrugged. "What? I was just acting the part. You have to admit I did sound pretty convincing."

"No, no no! That was lame!" Naruto fumed in response, "and here I was actually… you know, _worried_?" He looked up at his friend before trying to stomp off angrily. "You know what? You can go save your damn self."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, boy," said Yaiba, finally past his limit, "but you can try if you like." As he said so, the place filled with armored foes, surrounding Naruto on the floor and even on the second floor where he had a hold of his friend. The staff wielder neared his captive and drew his staff. "That would really make my day."

Suddenly Naruto pointed at his direction and yelled, "I challenge you to a fight! And if I win, me and Shikamaru, we get out of here without incident." The whole room froze for a second, before the booming sound of laughter filled the place. Everyone was laughing so hard Yaiba could barely hear himself think. Then again, even he had a chuckle or two at the blonde's expense. Some insults even started to fly around. It seemed the kid himself wasn't taking this seriously because he scratched his head a nervous grin on his face. "Well I guess I should've known this wasn't going to work. Plan B then." Yaiba snapped to attention too late; Naruto and ample time to cross his hands together.

"[Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu]!"

Things had pretty much evened out on the first floor now since there was at least as much Naruto's as they were soldiers. Yaiba grit his teeth; this was supposed to be a simple mission… and it still could he reminded himself. He took out his weapon and took a striking stance against his hostage.

"I really wouldn't attack anyone if you know what's good for your friend here," he threatened calmly.

Naruto – the whole of them – seemed to hesitate at that warning, but a moment later a grin found itself on their faces again. "You won't do that," one of them actually said cockily, "because you have no idea of what would happen if you tick me off." Yaiba narrowed his eyes. Yori had come to him yesterday with a similar message. That and the way his hostage barely behaved like one… weren't they supposed to be kids, rookie Genin – dropouts their informant had said? "Besides," Naruto added, "you don't want to mess with my friends either, you'd be getting both the Leaf and Sand against you."

Right on cue, the entrance from where Naruto came was blasted open, throwing off some of the soldiers. Out of the smoke came a flying puppet dropping dangerously purple gas left and right. "Poison!" cries came from left and right. An order was yelled and all shinobi double-tapped their mouth piece. There was a clicking noise going through the whole area before the armored soldiers marched through the poison clouds arms ready to fire those, oh so deadly exploding darts.

As for Yaiba, he had seen enough to know Yori had been followed and they had now to deal with the rest of the troublesome brats. Well enough games – they had been warned. He was prepared to strike his prisoner when he saw none other than his target in front of him, grinning from ear to ear. He looked past the blond but couldn't find his friend anywhere. His eyes came back to Naruto, who pointed down to the middle of the battlefield where there was now a blond fan-wielding girl, and the bug user. A bit to the left was his hostage, his chains cut, smiling and waving amidst a dozen clones. He turned back to Naruto who grin ferociously and said, "Body Exchange Technique you bastard!" before poofing out of existence as Yaiba raised his staff to have the pleasure doing it himself.

_Well Shit!_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto was beaming. "Admit it, I was awesome!"

Shikamaru said nothing as he looked around him. The room they were in was quite large, about as large as half the stadium they had been battling in during the Chunin finals. There was four heavy duty doors in each of the four walls, the biggest one behind him – probably the main entrance. The second floor where he was held hostage consisted mainly of catwalks, all filled with armored shinobi.

He had expected thing would start to go bad any second considering the potential of the enemy weapons, but Temari had literally turned things around with that fan of hers. It took a few explosions but they quickly resolved no t to fire any projectile within her vicinity. So people trying to tackle her were aiming for close-quarters combat. The plan had merit considering their armor. Temari tried pushing them away but she didn't have the blunt force, and her cutting attacks were all long range. Good thing she wasn't alone then.

Not too far on her right, Shino was dealing with them pretty much the same way he had before, with the added idea of being near Temari in order to wreak havoc in all impunity. The two were complementing each other quite well, being formidable both at long and close range. Weren't for the fact that Temari kept asking politely to "stay away from me you bug freak!" and Shino refused out of fun and necessity – and probably spite – Shikamaru would have called them the perfect tag team.

Kankuro, who had been at a slight disadvantage ever since the armored soldiers put on their respiratory device, opted to use a second puppet. He was larger, had barely any limbs an ugly head. He wasn't as fast or nimble as the first one, but he more than made up for it in raw power. The puppet kept firing grenades from his head and sometimes the puppet served as an equally threatening flail. The numbers and slow speed of his opponents helped as well.

As for Gaara, he simply stood by the entrance focused entirely on defense. The puppeteer took advantage of this and stayed near his brother. The enemy aimed for a repeat of yesterday, but unfortunately for them Gaara had learned his lesson and switched to his special sand, the one he kept in his gourd. This sand was denser, resulting in a more solid and durable defense. Besides Kankuro was doing enough damage for the two of them, preventing a focused retaliation.

That left him and Naruto. He had to wonder how come they weren't in any trouble considering he hadn't the same defensive capabilities as the others when he saw himself and Naruto dodging explosions like their lives depended on it in various places, gathering the majority of the attention. Shikamaru shook his head and returned to the real Naruto who was basically ranting because he hadn't paying attention.

"You got balls ignoring the guy that busted you out here!" the blond reprimanded.

The Chunin shrugged. "Technically, we're still here so you haven't done squat, but thanks for the save anyway." He quickly returned to the current situation. "Listen Naruto, I'll stop them with my shadow and you just do your—"

"Hell no!" Naruto said in his face, "If you have the chakra to do that we're doing things with a bang – Oblivion Style!"

The Chunin shrugged, the alternative was equally draining and tiresome so it really didn't matter. "Fine, but we're not using a lot of those."

The blond whooped and made a fist pump in response. He summoned a clone and the two of them positioned themselves to Shikamaru's sides. The trio turned towards the greatest group of armored soldiers, and the Chunin took extra care of noting the position of his teammates – far away from where they were aiming.

"[Dual element: Infernal Rave]!"

The deadly projectile was even more massive than the one against Kohaku thanks to the second Naruto. This gigantic ball of flame left a raging inferno behind everything it went through. The technique had no strength of its own but the fire it left behind was large enough to blind their foes and intense enough to seriously make them consider dousing those flames. The Infernal Rave eventually lost its intensity by the time it neared the wall, about 20 meters back, never reaching it.

"It's a combination attack!"

They were getting ready to launch a second offense when Shikamaru heard Yaiba's voice, "Call for backup immediately! Strike them from afar!"

Shikamaru snapped his head up. From the two opposite entries of the second floor, even more shinobi started to come in order to assist the assault. Things would get tricky if these guys remained there to provide cover fire. He pointed Naruto in the direction of one of the entrances and the two of them quickly started to make hand seals.

"[Dual element: Infernal Fire Blast]!"

This time, the fireball was normal-sized, but the color was a clear orange, nearing white. This projectile was also faster and lasted longer than the other version making it ideal to seal the far away entrance. But the real power of the jutsu was shown when it reached the gate of the second floor. The explosion the resulted was large enough to now only destroy the door, but take out a chunk of catwalks around the area as well, turning things once again to their advantage.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Around the leader, everyone was starting to panic. Yaiba couldn't blame them either.

"They took out the upper wing!"

"Who are these kids?"

_Damn it! You asked for it_, thought the leader of the armored shinobi,_ We would have gotten a better deal if the two of them were alive. No matter._ "Send out the Fullsuits."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Watching the total wreck of what once looked like an intimidating base, Naruto scratched his head. He had expected to be… tested? Or to even be forced to retreat. These supposed shinobi didn't have a lot going for them besides the armor… He couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed by all this – _these_ were the same guys that had taken Shikamaru hostage? Naruto hadn't showcased his new jutsu yet and it already looked like overkill. Not cool. He turned to his friend and asked,

"Hey Shikamaru? Don't you think things are going a bit too easy?"

"Actually Naruto, I'd be asking myself serious questions if things weren't that easy," the boy answered back.

Naruto was about to ask the meaning behind that remark when they both heard the sound of sliding metal. He turned left in time to see a wall disappearing to the ground leaving smoke in its stead. He looked around and was surprised to see the enemy happily retreat, leaving the six of them in the open space. The blond loudmouth felt a cold sweat tingle his neck as sounds of heavy metallic footsteps echoed around him. The smoke started to empty, leaving Naruto the chance to glance at the shadows that were soon coming for them.

He didn't like what he saw.

Too soon the smoke cleared completely leaving no doubt that three walking pieces of armor roughly two times the size of the ones before were slowing walking towards them. Naruto wasn't afraid, but he had to admit he was bit nervous facing a huge chuck of metal. It didn't help that nearly all his jutsu bar one – maybe two – wouldn't work on those things.

"H-hey Shikamaru," Naruto said, still a bit uneasy, "What are those?"

"Trouble," a Shikamaru as ecstatic as he was answered, "that's what they are."

They weren't the only ones with a bad opinion of the walking suits of armor. Soon they were rejoined by the rest of their team – each had tried a few attacks on them with various degrees of failures.

"I think they're wearing masks under there," supplied Kankuro, after he saw them walk through poison clouds. Temari was getting annoyed by these people – she couldn't use any of her attacks against them. "I barely grazed those freaks!" she said. If the Chunin didn't knew batter he'd think she was whining. Shikamaru and Naruto had come to another troubling conclusion. "I think they're fireproof as well," the blond said to the group.

The armors decided they were done brushing every attack thrown at them and started to attack as well, sending the same kind of exploding darts as before. The fact that they did so and without any fear of interruption made this attack more difficult to handle than it should have. Things were starting to get troublesome again. Temari blew them back with her fan, but instead of retreating the three suits of armor took out weapons instead.

The first one turned his fists into sharp looking instruments of death, a sharp blade came from the back hand, claws formed at each finger, and the whole arms grew spikes. The second took out a halberd with a chain between the blade and the pole. The third one carried what looked like a portable cannon. Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. _What the hell his up with all these weapons? How come I never heard of these guys?_

They were going nowhere fast and now wasn't the time to think of a plan – besides he was tired. Oh, what the hell, he'd just go with the flow. First up, divide and conquer. "Well there's three of them – let's team up," he suggested, "power hitters should be separated, so Gaara, you're in one team, Naruto you're in the second, Temari you're in the third."

They were about to do so when the cannon armor's started to lit up. The teens jumped out of the way immediately, just in time to evade what looked like a boulder engulfed in fire. In fact they were more of a pack of flaming rocks the burst into every direction as soon as the boulder hit the ground.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Tch. Figures I'd get the woman," noted Shikamaru tiredly as the dust and ember settled.

"_What was that?_" said woman snarled.

Shikamaru pretended he never said anything offensive and instead looked at their target, the melee oriented fullsuit. No projectile weapons Temari could take advantage from. Troublesome. "Just keep your eyes on the walking death machine please," he let out, still trying to figure out how to approach that thing. The opponent gave him reason and fired more of the explosive darts. Shikamaru and Temari jumped back.

"…_Right,_" the kunoichi conceded, "Just remember your ass is next after him."

"…Whatever."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shino ended with Gaara of all people. He hadn't paired with the sand user prior. Well, there was a first time for everything. Gaara quirked an eyebrow himself, but said nothing otherwise. Their sight of the fullsuit cleared – it was the cannon wearing armor.

Noticing the opponent's slow pace, Shino attacked first and sent his bugs to swarm their foe, still the fullsuit attacked with his bulky weapon like they weren't there. M_y pupa insects are sticking to the armor, so it means it runs with chakra, but they can't access it, odd._ He withdrew his insects and let his partner try an attack of his own. Gaara opted for the always reliable Sand Coffin – Sand Burial combo, but as he tried to crush his opponent to death he found himself unable to.

So the armor had no holes his bugs could take advantage from and was solid enough to withstand Gaara's sand – quite the puzzle.

"Interesting," the Suna Genin surmised

_Took the words right out of my mouth._

"Indeed."

Gaara let out a ghost of a grin and so did Shino under his coat. Unbeknownst to them, the man in the fullsuit seeing them in agreement, _shivered_.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

As he got out of harm's way, Kankuro go to see Temari, Gaara, his new partner in crime, and the bug boy head in different directions, and that meant the only one left was… The puppet user twitched – _not him again_. He didn't hate the blond brat. He was a good kid… though he pissed him off with his earlier stupidity, his Chunin partner seemed determined to beat the stupid out of him, so that was good. No, he didn't want to partner with him for a different reason.

Yesterday, Naruto took out a ridiculous amount of shuriken he divided by chunks of twenty or so and after doing so made Shadow Clones. The clones put the stars in some kind of containment jutsu before transforming themselves into fuma shuriken. All that was left then was to use them. Luckily, Temari's wind was more than enough to make sure these weapons arrived at destination. When the fuma shuriken arrived at destination or was struck down, the clone would dispel… In the end plan worked, so why didn't he want to pair up with Naruto? Simple, the blond brat had completely left him out of the action – Kankuro couldn't even remember another time he felt so useless.

Well no choice but get on with it, right? The puppet user sighed. "So I'm stuck with you, huh?" he asked dejectedly. He turned to face him and found him sulking in a crouching position. The boy mumbled something Kankuro couldn't make out, so he got closer and he heard, "…not Shikamaru."

_This… damn kid…!_

"Damn it, I'm the one who should be sulking!"

Neither of them gave a semblance of attention to the halberd-type fullsuit whose eye started to twitch.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Yoshiro, the shinobi inside the cannon fullsuit was currently going through what was probably the worst night of his life. Even though he was nearly invincible, he had nearly died a couple of times. He had been swarmed by bugs – which had always been a phobia of his – he had experience being crushed to death – without the painful part – he had been boxed in a sand coffin filled with explosive – he really thought he had died for that one – he had been hit with the blunt force of condensed sand – he swore that had the power to take out their reinforced walls. Currently he was being suffocated. Good thing these things came with air tanks.

That didn't mean he was out of trouble. So far Yoshiro wasn't able to land and attack, let alone launch one. Furthermore, since that explosion attack his armor was making sounds he knew it wasn't supposed to do – and that had only gone worse with each of their attacks. The most worrying part was that the two teens looked nowhere near worried of afraid themselves, they were like scientist trying test after test to see how much of a punishment he could take. He had a newfound respect for every test subjects out there.

Ah ha! The twerps were busy discussing the results again. Now was the time to finish with this hellish fight once and for all. He took aim, but as the lights started, he heard some strange noise from within the cannon.

"I'm sorry but that won't work anymore," said the bug user, "I sent some of my insects to clog whatever was needed to fire the weapon." Yoshiro wondered what he meant by that and suddenly his trusted weapon exploded. The shock was so great he was rattled even inside of his fullsuit. He got up and did a quick check; his weapon was destroyed, his dart launchers were now out of commission, and so was his flamethrower, in the end he had almost no weapons. This couldn't get—

"It seems he was protected by a second armor."

_What did he say?_ The only way those brats would know that would be… It was official now, Yoshiro was _scared_.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

From the side of the odd couple, Shikamaru and Temari learned the hard way that it was a bad idea to engage the fullsuit at a distance. The fact he could shrug off pretty much anything they threw at him and counter attack immediately made him a tough customer, add to that he had a flamethrower in the upper region and all the range advantage they had was gone. And he was supposed to be the melee fighter too. Just great.

"So, any bright ideas?" asked the sand kunoichi.

Shikamaru, who was in a middle of some brainstorming, answered the first thing that came up in his mind, "Huh, explosives?"

Temari gave him a blank look. "In case you haven't noticed those don't work on him."

Nonsense, explosives always worked. He hadn't been in the active shinobi for a year yet, but he knew this was probably a fundamental law. Even his teacher Asuma had agreed you couldn't abuse enough of exploding tags. If a good explosion couldn't dispose of an enemy it only meant…

"Bigger explosives then…?"

The blond twitched. "What is it with you and explosives?"

The Chunin shrugged and returned to his pondering. The annoying woman was against the idea of explosives so he would have to try and do it alone. _Tch,_ _Yeah right_. Next on the list was that dangerous jutsu the girl next to him used. That should at least cripple the armor. Let's go with that then. "How about the move you used on me last time?" he suggested.

"Sorry, but that thing could probably take out the whole base with us inside," explained Temari. Which made Shikamaru's eye twitch. You mean you used that kind of jutsu on _me_? It was Temari's turn to shrug, "You're still alive, aren't you?" The Chunin brow lowered but the kunoichi was quicker. "Just distract him and I'll see what I can do."

Shikamaru glared at her, but still went forward in order to duke it out with the armored foe. The slight muscle pain and the dull ache from Yaiba blows weren't helping, on the other hand, the hunk of metal was so slow the Chunin didn't even need his mind flicker technique. He evaded blows by swaying and swerving trying to get a rise of his opponent by throwing some of his tags. Shikamaru saw her signal and quickly body flickered out of sight While Temari swung her instrument of death.

"[Great Cutting Whirlwind!]"

In the end, the area wasn't in as a bad shape as neither shinobi thought it would be. The damage of the violent winds was there but it wasn't substantial. The least affected was ironically the fullsuit; the only sign of damage was a cut on the armor's torso. Temari leaned on her fan. "No dice," remarked Temari, a bit shaken something could easily stand up to her deadliest attacks, "The cut isn't deep enough and I'll bring the whole base down before I even get through—" she paused and looked at her partner who was paying no mind to her. Instead he was slightly crouched, his hands in a weird seal. And to top it off the bastard was smiling. The kunoichi's vein started to show. "You've got guts to ignore me like that," she said with a feral smile.

The Chunin looked quite annoyed himself. "I didn't see _you_ come up with any brilliant strategies so far. I am always open to your great ideas though." He waited for a moment before adding oil to the fire. "What's that? You haven't got any? Thought as much." A second set of anger veins "Now last part of the plan – do you remember the move you used against Tenten in the Chunin preliminaries?"

"That will only stall him, if only that."

"Still waiting for your bright ideas, oh enlightened one."

"… Once this is over I'm _so_ kicking your pretentious ass."

This time, Shikamaru didn't bother and used his Shadow Bind Jutsu from the get go. Temari launched her Cutting Whirlwind as soon as the fullsuit was completely immobilized. When Shikamaru released his shadow, he was glad to see the armor had trouble escaping Temari's localized tornado. "Try to hold it for as long as you can," he asked Temari as he made some hand seals. He took a deep breath and held it as long as he could.

[Fire Element: Fireball Technique]!

The fire that came out was his hottest yet – almost on par with the Infernal Fire Blast – turning the twister into a pillar of fire so intense he had to retreat near Temari who was ten meters away. Temari had to send attack after attack just to maintain the fire. After a minute of that she was starting to sweat buckets. "H-hey, how long am I supposed to hold this thing?" she finally asked, nearing exhaustion.

"Until the signal."

"…What signal?" asked the kunoichi. Just then an agonizing scream came from the fire pillar. Shikamaru pointed towards the fire, "That one," he simply said.

The Fire died down as fast as it started, leaving a man limping out of his suit of armor towards the duo through the dense smoke left by the battle. "H-how?" he asked after seeing how they beat him, "This suit was fireproof." Shikamaru smirked. "Thought as much, but your armor is still made of metal and if it doesn't melt, metal conducts a lot of heat. There must have been something inside to cool the metal down, so when a hole in your armor appeared… well you can guess the rest."

"You were aiming for that from the beginning?"

"The fire? No. the hole? Definitely."

_To find a weakness to our fullsuit armor so easily…_ "D-dangerous." Temari and Shikamaru exchanged a questioning glance. "You're too dangerous, I'll take you down."

The man moved with a speed that was nothing to do sneeze at, despite his injury. _Jeez that guy sure can take a punishment_. Unfortunately for him, the fullsuit wearer still hadn't figured how Shikamaru's jutsu worked so he walked right into the first trap the Chunin laid for him. "Sorry, but this is checkmate," he announced to his vainly struggling opponent, "[Shadow Bind] Complete." He got closer still and the Shadow, to the surprise of everyone except Shikamaru, rose slithering its way up the man's body and finally reaching his neck.

[Shadow Neck Bind].

But instead of making the sign that would take care of their problem permanently, the shadow user let the man struggle instead. He didn't feel like killing his opponent, but the old man had given him a task… oh well; screw the task – why should he kill someone if he didn't have to? He decided to try something new instead. He brought his arms together, forcing his captive to do the same, after that he had his shadow circle the man's arms instead. _I guess I could call it 'Shadow Constriction', _he though, before finally clenching his fist.

The result was interesting. There was a faint sound of something being snapped and then the arms of the fullsuit shinobi fell limply at his sides. From what Shikamaru could see the man was struggling to raise them, to no avail. "What…? What have you done to me?" Asked the worried man. The Nara heir was asking himself the same question so he put his captive under another Shadow Bind and tried to move his arms through the jutsu. Nothing. The only pain the melee fighter seemed to feel was his burn.

Interesting.

"Oi, how come you never used this moved against me?" asked Temari genuinely curious for once.

"Because it's not a move to end a fight," said Shikamaru, fully realizing what he had done, "It's a move to end lives."

Temari snorted before arguing, "He doesn't look dead to me."

"Believe me he probably wishes he was," he answered back.

"What? Just because you broke his arms?"

Shikamaru sighed and decided to explain the effect of his new jutsu. "His arms won't recover – ever." _Well that's what I get for trying to change a Jutsu designed for killing I guess._

Temari gave Shikamaru a look, "You don't know that," she argued. But seeing the grim look on his face, and the anguished movements of his victim the kunoichi decided not to push things further. A moment later they left to find the rest of their friends.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Gaara!"

Temari quickly neared her brother and scanned him for injuries. Shikamaru noticing the lack of fighting looked for the fullsuit, and found it not far from the Shino and Gaara. He also noticed the armor was opened and the inside empty. The shadow user had a feeling he didn't want to know what happened here, but asked anyway, "Where's the owner?" pointing at the piece of metal.

Shino shrugged. "…he ran away." The Chunin went from his partner to the Sand user and he could clearly see disappointment in both their faces. He took a closer look at the armor; it been damaged around the hands, but looked in perfect condition besides that – that could only mean one thing. He shuddered, pitying the poor soul who had to face these guys from the bottom of his heart.

That only left Naruto and Kankuro. The group of now four looked for the more outspoken people of their respective teams and found them sulking not far from each other.

Shikamaru blinked a few times. "Naruto…? What are you doing?" he asked carefully, but the blond didn't answer him. Instead Kankuro spoke up.

"That dumbass cut it to pieces. I didn't even have to do anything, again…" he lamented.

Shikamaru's eye twitched. _What the hell are they doing here then?_

"I wasn't even trying…" Naruto groaned. And that somehow pissed Shikamaru. The Chunin marched right behind his friend and gave him a good slap in the back of the head. The boy yelp in pain and whirled around, in confusion, in which turned in to anger when he recognized the perpetrator. "Shikamaru? What the hell?"

"You dumbass!" Shikamaru told him, "Why didn't you help us instead of moping like an idiot?"

Temari was practically doing the same for her younger brother. "Same to you, Kankuro! I can't believe you lowered to the level of a brat like him!" she said, pointing at Naruto.

Both teens looked quite insulted by that last remark. "Hey!" they both said, but before they could argue further, there was a crashing sound and all eyes turned towards Yaiba himself, who looked quite angry. "You… Do you even realize all the years we put in that research? All of that wasted because of mere brats!"

Naruto scratched his hair nonchalantly. "Huh …you alright?"

"That's it, I'm going to kill the lot of you myself," The Leader said, getting ready to fight, "starting with you, he said, eyes blazing in Naruto's direction."

The blond Genin, gave Shikamaru a look before shrugging. "You want me, you got me." That said he cracked his knuckles and stepped up.

The others looked ready to interfere but Shikamaru stepped forward. "No. this is Naruto's fight – the guy called him out after all." Gaara didn't look convinced. "That doesn't prevent us from lending assistance," he remarked. Shikamaru smirked. "You're right, but in this case Naruto wants to fight him alone," his eyes narrowed, "Besides did you look at him? I don't think he'd listen to any advice right now."

Temari looked at the blond confused. "Any reason why he's like that?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Beats me." _But I do know this fight is important and he should do it alone – for other reasons._

As for Naruto, he was radiating of killer intent, eyes only on his opponent, thinking only one thing; _You tried to mess with my friend – my __**real**__ friend? I'll be sure to kick your ass so hard your great grand children will feel it, you know it!_ He took a fighting stance. _I'll show you how Naruto Uzumaki goes all out._

_**Naruto V.S. Yaiba! The fruits of training are revealed next chapter!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: Sorry about the lack of new Naruto jutsu; just didn't fit in the chapter. Oh well, at least you got some good ol' Oblivion double team, right? ¬_¬' Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter. And now the Review and Reply.**

******And now the Review and Reply snippet. You should know where to find the rest by now.**

**Rev: It would be nice to see Shika's real power with his extra techniques [...] He is awesome in canon.**  
**SShun: **Well, there are two reasons for the extra techniques. One I'm not Kishimoto – it's hard for me to write about Shikamaru winning with his mind alone. Though for that fact alone he's more of what I consider a shinobi than a lot of people in Naruto. And the only S class enemy he had to face so far only had immortality going for him.  
**Naru:** Hey, what about me?  
**Shika: **You're more of a hero or a warrior than a shinobi. Not that it's a bad or anything.  
**SShun: **Second reason is simple, since Shikamaru gets part of the spotlight, he'll have to fight tougher opponents so he'll need to be stronger.  
**Shika: **… And when will that happen  
**SShun: **Why, starting next chapter of course!  
**Shika: ***_facepalms_* I just _had_ to ask, didn't I?  
**SShun: **Oh, and in case you didn't notice, the new jutsu he learned are more focused on support than anything. With the exception of the only two fire jutsu he'll ever learn. Still, have you read '_Kagemane Complete_'? Supermaru is _awesome.  
_**Naru: ***_nods_* and badass.  
**Shika: **Well… I guess that's true

**_Naruto on the other hand is one of the best buildup. Not overpowered. Ignorant, but working on it. No fancy extras, and believable improvements.  
****Naru:** You know it! I'm so kickass I amaze myself.  
**Shika & Naru:** …


	32. The Wind Chronicles

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**32. Peacemakers: The Wind Chronicles**

_**It's finally time for the Blond Wonder to show his power! Go Naruto!**_

Naruto was currently scowling and Yaiba, the leader of the armored shinobi was glaring right back. Both were angry and radiating killing intent, both were seizing up the other, ready to attack at a moment's notice, both we're… not moving really and it got boring. Fast. Naruto didn't get how they could make that tension building look cool for that long in movies. Seriously, how was he supposed to stay mad at the guy if all he did was to look at him funny? At least the Snake Bastard actually felt dangerous. He finally gave up on that glaring, huffing and shrugging instead. He took a breath in order not to be too angry and moved first.

Naruto seemingly disappeared, only for his fist to be parried by Yaiba's staff. The boy backed away before his foe could counterattack, moved left and attacked from the side with a jump kick. This time the man blocked and skidded a full meter back, staring a bit surprised at the kid. Naruto smiled and the attacks continued relentlessly for a while, but Yaiba didn't look like he was in trouble. He smirked and suddenly thrust and twisted his weapon like a spear at seemingly nothing, but the blow did in fact connect with the blond Genin who had barely the time to do a reinforced cross arm block. The staff wielder smiled. "I admit you're fast brat, but it's only raw speed." That didn't prevent Naruto from trying the same tactic again.

Yaiba wasn't the only one to notice this flaw. Gaara neared Shikamaru at about the same time Temari did. The kunoichi asked first, "Why does he keep attacking like that? This isn't going to end well."

Shikamaru said nothing for a bit. He watched Naruto dodge a stab aiming to take off his head before sighing. "This is a field test." The two Sand Siblings blinked. "Explain," Gaara said. The Nara genius became a tad annoyed. "Haven't noticed anything unusual yet?" he asked almost impatiently. When there was no answer he tried again. "Naruto is fighting that guy _one on one_ – He's not even taking this fight seriously yet."

Gaara tried to open his mouth but shut it. Shikamaru was right; this fight would have changed considerably if Naruto used his clones – maybe there was something he wanted to do. And what he saw next made he agree with the Chunin.

Naruto was fast, no doubt about it. He also knew is new speed was severely limited. Oh, he could definitely move as fast as Rock lee without his weights, even as fast as when Bushy Brows tried his Omote Renge against Gaara. But that was only in a straight line. That was the difference between their training methods – and rotten Bloodline limits. Rock Lee, and Sasuke to a lesser extent, could _move_ fast, Rock lee having the advantage at attacking just as fast. The Hyuuga cousins didn't have the same movement speed, relying on their attack speed instead. Naruto's 'speed' was based on strength too much, meaning it was limited without the elasticity or the endurance to back it up – basically, glorified horizontal leaps. _So I was right about not using this against Sasuke_, thought the Genin bitterly, _Oh well, it just means I'm not done with it. Let's see what I can come up with for now_.

Naruto ran at his usual speed and attacked with his trademarked Jumping punch. Yaiba swatted the telegraphed attack with ease, but quickly retook his stance when he saw the blonde wasn't retreating like before. Since he didn't have to move back and forth, Naruto was able to land more hits, and with his chakra each blow meant trouble. That wasn't to say his foe had any difficulty dealing with him – the man was a master of the staff and was able to deflect his attacks once he had tested their strength. The blond tried a last kick before using the move's force to back away.

Naruto stared intently at his opponent, trying to figure out what angle he should approach from next. So far the new things he had learned in taijutsu were proving useless against a more experienced combatant and he still didn't want to use his clones, at least not at this point. _Right – ninjutsu it is then_. He started to make hand seals but was suddenly struck by Yaiba's staffs, which was now 15 meters long. He quickly shrunk back as the leader of the armored shinobi retook his stance. "You're good, but not good enough. It's about time I finished this."

The fight took a turn for the worse since now Yaiba's attacks left Naruto without a moment to breathe. The Genin had nothing that didn't take time to prepare at long range and his projectiles didn't have enough punch on their own, even with wind chakra. His 'kunai' were out of options: no way in hell was he going to throw those. What if they went through the walls? Back to close range it was, the staff strikes were ridiculously fast and strong at long range anyway.

Once he dodged a vertical smash, he closed the distance in a blink, and apparently this was what Yaiba was waiting for because he already had his weapon at ready and it shimmered ominously. "This is the end [Earth Splitter]!"

Naruto followed simple logic – if it's glowing, don't touch it! – and knowing he didn't have time to dodge out took the only thing he thought would make a difference. The staff made contact with metal and managed to come at centimeters of Naruto's face, who was struggling to push back the weapon even with his new strength.

Yaiba looked bewildered. "What?" he yelled still trying to crush his foe. "My bo should have destroyed your weapons – it should have destroyed _you_!"

"Good thing my kunai channel wind chakra then," retorted Naruto, surprised himself that his blades couldn't cut through the weapon. _Sheesh, I actually felt that!_ the blond whined mentally. His arms still shook as they tried to distance him from the staff's glow.

Eventually he was able to push back the weapon and started to attack again. He made quick swipes with his weapons, trying to get a feel for them. He often switched from one to two weapons, finally settling for the orthodox reverse grip style with only his dominant hand. As he got accustomed to the kunai he couldn't help but stare at his opponent a bit perplexed. Here he was switching styles he had for the most part no _real_ experience in – his clones didn't count– and still it gave the man enough trouble to prevent him being overwhelmed. In fact, he could see some cuts here and— there! Another one… but he hadn't made contact. His eyes lit up in realization – so _that_'s why he wasn't loosing as badly as before. Man, now he _really_ liked his new kunai. Sharp and a bit unpredictable, just like him. And speaking of unpredictable wind…

Naruto backed away again, to the relief of his opponent. The victorious grin he sported seemed to unnerve the bo fighter though. "I think I got what I wanted from you," he announced boldly, "time to bring this to a finish."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

_It seems he's still looking for something. _Shikamaru could see it from the way Naruto was switching styles almost constantly. _And he still hasn't used his clones yet. I wonder…_

"What is he doing?" asked Shino besides him. Startled out of his thoughts, the Chunin turned around and saw that the rest of the joint team was now gathered, all of them looking at him instead of Naruto. "Do you mind?" he found himself saying. Had any of them ever heard the term 'personal space'? He took a step back before asking, "Why do you think I know?"

"You seem to know him best," elaborated Gaara.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well I don't," he bluntly answered, "I'm pretty much sure not even Naruto knows what's going on in Naruto's head." He did a quick glance towards Naruto in order to make sure he wouldn't miss anything. Thankfully, Naruto still was in the midst of figuring out what ever that was that he was looking for. "What I do know however, is _why_ he's doing it now." The stares narrowed. "It's because of this guy," he finally said, pointing at Yaiba.

Seeing not all of them had gotten what he meant, Shikamaru added, "Well the boss of this little group obviously is in the mid to high tier Chunin category – at least, when it comes to battle ability." He couldn't say for anything else though – after all, his goons _still_ hadn't taken the opportunity to attack them. "In other words, his opponent is a bit better but within reach, so he's taking advantage of the situation." He let them put the rest of the pieces together.

"So it really is a test," concluded the red haired Jinchuriki when he remembered what the Nara had said before.

Shikamaru nodded. "Though I thought he'd be testing something else entirely," he mused. As he finished his sentence, Naruto jumped back and predicted his victory. "Ah," said the Chunin, his smug grin returning, "There we go."

"What's going on now?" asked Kankuro.

"Something good," he replied. "You might want to watch this carefully."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"[Shadow Clone Technique]!"

Three clones appeared, but before they could achieve anything, they were forced to move or die as Yaiba swung his staff. Deciding a bit of distraction was in order, the real Naruto got in close range with his kunai and drew his opponent's attacks to himself while the clones huddled up in a circle, made some hand seals and pumped wind chakra into their fists. A howling sound quickly filled the area. Alerting everyone of how powerful the next moves would be.

The three clones faced Yaiba with a smile on their face. Naruto, still fighting with the man, grinned when he heard the telltale sound of the technique stabilizing. "And now," he announced proudly, "for your greatest enjoyment, here are the Uzumaki Naruto Wind Chronicles."

He backed away as one of his doubles came up instead. This one looked like he had failed his jutsu, but he yelled anyway, "First up; [Wind Fists]!" The man tried to finish this as soon as possible out of fear of being attacked simultaneously and overwhelmed but Naruto dodged and swayed while aiming for a moment of recovery. The leader's bo had other ideas.

The clone smiled as he finally found his opportunity and threw a punch a tad different than the other ones. Yaiba saw the move coming from a mile away and reared his head to evade the blow. Suddenly, he felt like he had been punched in the face, and his head snapped back. He couldn't understand what happened and jumped back in order to remedy to that. Fortunately for Naruto, he wasn't out of his range yet so he threw another punch which hit nothing but air while still dealing damage to his foe. Taking advantage of his staggering, Naruto kicked him with all his strength, sending him rolling back a few meters. Satisfied with the result, the clone yelled "Tag!" and then dispelled.

The second clone winked at the original before disappearing after his target. He was already within close quarter distance when Yaiba managed to recover. Not even giving him the time to catch his breath, the blond double unleashed his second attack.

"Next up; [Tornado Upper]!"

The tornado was a bit bigger than the last time he had used it in front of Shikamaru. Yaiba's efforts to block were for nothing – the attack was the whirlwind itself, not the uppercut, so the blond didn't need to make contact. The winds lifted the enemy shinobi and trapped him in the miniature tornado as long as Naruto held the move by providing the chakra. He stopped and so did the tornado, launching Yaiba a bit – perfect for a well aimed jump kick.

The staff master rolled on the ground and slowly got up to meet the last clone. The blond was looking a bit bored. "Hey, try to keep up. This is the third one, [Wind Blade]," he said, showing his kunai, only now Yaiba couldn't even see the kunai since it was engulfed in something white. His Wind Blade had the shape of the throwing dagger, if only a bit larger.

When he got up, the man could only glare at the boy. _This, this brat…!_ He let out a war cry and tried to attack, only for the tip of his staff to be cut clean off. His eyes widened and he backed away, with the clear intent of pulverizing the blond from a distance. His weapon started to shimmer again before he elongated it again. "[Extended Earth Splitter]!"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Meanwhile, the group was watching in awe as Naruto used new jutsu one after the other. Temari was the most avid of the lot, considering the strength of the blond as a fellow wind user. She was wondering if she could take him on in a fight without his 'guest', when Naruto used his Wind Blade Jutsu. At her side, Kankuro's eyes narrowed and he grunted angrily.

"That's the move he used to cut up that armor suit," he sneered, still a bit upset over the event.

Next to him Shikamaru grinned despite the rest of them still being near. "So it can be used in close-range as well," the Chunin let out, "That's a nifty trick." Temari, quickly caught the important part of that sentence. "What do you mean 'as well'?" he turned to her with his usual bored expression. "It'd be too troublesome to tell you when he'll show it – just watch."

Temari bit down her retort and focused on the blond instead. Now she _really_ wanted to fight him.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The third clone's new blade was strong enough to put a dent on Yaiba's staff even through his Earth Splitter. The man, not wanting to weaken his weapon any further retracted the pole and changed his strategy.

[Earth Spear: Thousand Stabs]!

Suddenly, Naruto's copy was jumping and rolling from the staff's sudden extending and retracting motions, as if he was standing right in front of them. From the look of things the staff wielder could keep attacking like that for a while so the clone decided to counter attack. He evaded each blow patiently, and when he was able to get a feeling for the next blow he parried with his Wind Blade. The staff was still retracting when Naruto made a wide swinging motion: "[Flying Wind Blade]!"

Naruto's blade made a wind slash, and the chakra kunai returned to its original shape. His opponent quickly took a defensive stance and blocked with his staff, unfortunately for him, the wind cutter hit in one of the places where the clone's weapon had made a flaw and it effectively cut the weapon in two, wounding his wielder in passing.

Yaiba clutched his chest near the shoulder, while looking murderously at the remaining Naruto – the real one. Each of his clones had been hard to deal with, with their tricky techniques. And he knew that jutsu; Shadow Clones disappeared after sustaining anything more than light damage – Meaning he hadn't been able to hit even one of them. To add salt to injury they had all taken turns in beating the hell out of him. And after him there still were all of his comrades.

Yaiba cursed loudly and plunged his broken staff into the ground. He then made a few hand seals. "[Earth Restorer]", he growled before taking out a brand new looking weapon. In front of him, his target was stupidly grinning as he shattered his ambitions one by one. _No, we were so close!_ He shook his head wildly and slammed his staff on the ground "Enough!" declared the man, "I won't let you stand in the way of our revenge!"

A moment later a pitch black armor similar to the fullsuits enveloped him and Yaiba took his stance.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru looked at Naruto. "Things are getting serious." Gaara nodded.

Kankuro tried to figure out if they were watching the same one-sided battle he was. "What are you talking about?" he asked them, "Naruto's been dominating this entire fight – I don't see why the guy's armor would make a difference." The two of them gave him a sharp look. Shino, sharing the same thoughts but wise enough to keep them for himself, joined them. Now Kankuro was even more confused. "Huh? Wait, what's wrong with what I said?"

Shikamaru simply shook his head. "We were talking about Naruto – he's the one getting serious. Actually, he's angry." The Chunin rubbed the back of his shoulder before adding, "I pity his opponent; only bad things come from an angry Naruto."

"Yeah, like what?" Temari asked, curious.

"He pierced my shoulder with his bare hand," answered Shikamaru as Gaara replied, "He stabbed me in the rear with an explosive kunai." The two looked at each other for three full seconds under the incredulous stares of the others before returning to the battle in front. While the rest of the joint team reflected on Naruto's more… unsettling methods of attack, the two victims in question wondered the same thing about the other.

_I wonder how __**that**__ happened_.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The powered up leader of the armor shinobi, finally revealing his trump card fastened his weapon on his arm, like a shield. Soon the familiar earthen glow returned, announcing he was readying an attack. He put his left arm forward, and the staff started to rotate in front of him. Soon it spun so fast the dull brown shimmer was all that could be seen. "You won't be walking away from this one boy," snarled Yaiba menacingly, "This is my own secret technique: [Revolving Earth Drive]." After his announcement, he dashed forward in a burst of speed thanks to the fire on his back and the soles of his feet, his staff ripping apart the ground in a similar fashion to the Chidori.

Naruto had started making hand seals himself in the meantime, and soon his hand was covered in a tornado. He had taken a strange position, his face turned slightly away from the black armor wearing shinobi. _Time to use that_, he thought resolutely. His foe was within seconds of turning him to dust when he unleashed his last and strongest attack. He started shifting his weight and suddenly his legs, waist, and every part of his body started to turn in order to transfer power to his arm. The arm itself was twisting inwards as he outstretched it in front of him. "Eat this!" the Uzumaki roared, "[Corkscrew Hurricane]!"

Naruto's hand, engulfed in that white cutting wind of his, came in contact with the still spinning staff and struggled with it for a split second before shattering it hitting its wielder square in the chest. Sparks flew as his punch drilled into the armor and soon enough there was a scream; Naruto had pierced through both levels of metal armor. He probably would have drilled a hole into his opponent were it not for his move ending abruptly in a gust of whirlwind that sent Naruto flying.

The whole enemy base was silent, intently watching how things were going to end, because interestingly enough, Yaiba had remained standing. He wasn't really moving though, and after a moment the armor opened and the man fell out unconscious right in front of Naruto, who had moved as soon as he had gotten up, his chakra kunai ready. He raised his arm to finish the defeated leader of the armor shinobi but a hand restrained him. Surprised, Naruto turned to face Shikamaru. He wasn't the only one surprised – the Chunin moved so silently even the rest of the joint team didn't notice.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I need him to answer a couple of questions Naruto – you can kill him afterwards."

The Genin blinked, looked at his defeated opponent and back at his friend. He finally nodded tersely after looking at Yaiba again. He tried saying something, but the words wouldn't come out. He then scoffed and suddenly he was back to the boasting blond he had always been.

"Damn I was awesome!" he yelled exuberantly.

"Pay attention Naruto," Shikamaru snapped.

Naruto noticed that the Chunin was now crouched near the unconscious shinobi, assessing his state and that of his fullsuit, notably the big hole in its chest.

"The… 'Corkscrew Hurricane' you called it?" Shikamaru remembered. "I'm pretty sure this is a killing move." That news got Naruto's full attention. He knew of another killing move – this one used the lightning element. "However right now it's still incomplete – we already talked about this."

Shikamaru and Naruto had been aware of this when the blond had showed him the results of his training earlier. Right now the move had two glaring weaknesses. One, Naruto hadn't mastered the corkscrew punch to a level where he could do it while moving, turning him into a sitting duck. Second, there was that wind backlash that he still couldn't get rid of – harmful to him as well as the opponent.

Shikamaru shrugged and said, "Well, we have time to refine that." He turned to Naruto. "In the mean time congrats on your new jutsu," punching Naruto lightly on the shoulder.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru and then at his hand. "I see… so I finally got it I guess – my wind version of the Chidori." He actually thought over his new destructive power for two seconds. He would have spent more time mulling over that new weapon but they were kind of in the middle of an enemy base. "So, what's next, Shikamaru?"

"We take this guy and leave while his grunts still aren't moving while vainly hoping they won't retaliate?"

Naruto chuckled, "That's sounds about right."

He supported that plan until he learned he was the one who'd do the actual carrying, He was not impressed. And before he could further protest The Chunin had moved Yaiba on his shoulder.

"I hate you Shikamaru."

"I know; if I wasn't me I'd hate myself too."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Yaiba opened his eyes to find Shikamaru sitting next to him. With a quick glance he figured two things. One, he wasn't dead – so someone must have treated his wounds – two, he was only able to move his head.

"Figured you'd wake up by now," the boy said in greeting, "I just have a couple of questions to ask you."

"You won't get anything from me," sneered the prisoner, "If you think this is over you've got another thing coming, boy."

Shikamaru blinked. "Yeah, about that…"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

_The joint team had left the base for about an hour when they felt a low rumbling. Turning around they saw something coming out of the forest. It was Navy blue in color and about three times as big as the threes around it. If Naruto had to guess, he'd have estimated its height to about Gamabunta's. _

"_Shikamaru?" he asked tiredly, "isn't that…?"_

"_I'm pretty sure it is a giant suit of metal, Naruto."_

"_Someone really, really hates us, don't they?"_

"_Do you really want me to answer that?"_

_Naruto only whimpered for sole answer._

_Temari found this the perfect moment to ask for ideas. They probably could outrun that thing if they moved at full speed, but for how long? It didn't look like it would stop following them. The thought of such a monstrosity with the vicinity of any village made them abandon the idea of a simple retreat. No, they would have to fight. Maybe aim for one of the legs and then runaway, or maybe it would fall apart if they destroyed the head…?_

"_I can call for the Shukaku," offered Gaara._

_The rest of the team shared horrified glances. "No…" Naruto swatted the idea away. "It's just… no." The blond had an idea himself but if only if it was necessary – or mentioned._

"_How about your summoning Naruto?" asked Shikamaru._

_**Thanks Shikamaru**__. "Well… I guess I can try," he finally admitted. He took his scroll and bit his thumb. While he slammed his fist into the ground he chanted, __**Please let it be Gamabunta. Please, please, please let it be Gamabunta**__. _

_[Summoning Technique]!_

"_Oh… so we meet again, punk."_

_The smoke hadn't disappeared and yet Naruto knew his prayers hadn't been answered. He looked up the staff wielding, samurai armor wearing, blue toad looking at him and he still looked as scary as when they first met – big surprise there. Heck, if anything the summon looked bigger than he was last time. Naruto did not look directly into its eyes and tried to stop his body from shaking._

"_I hope you remembered what we talked about last time," he started, and Naruto simply pointed in a direction behind the toad. When the huge amphibian turned around and saw his opponent was a bit taller than he was, he smiled. "Now that's a good kid – I might actually use my staff today."_

_Naruto nodded, still not ready to meet the summon's stare. His friends couldn't tell if the poor Genin was sweating bullets or crying under that lowered head._

_As for the Bo wielding toad he watched in interest as the giant of metal attacked him with strange weapons. First his hand could rotate, transforming it into a dangerous drill, and then the funny attacks just didn't stop. Add the fact that pretty much every part of his body had projectiles – most of them explosives. But the thing he couldn't quite get was their need to put "activate" every time a new move was made. He had to admit it had been cool the first few times, but now the yells were grating his nerves. _

_So far he had been able to parry every blow thrown against him, but when he the metal giant pulled out a sword he decided to call it a day. Using his powerful legs he leapt so high he went out of sight. A few seconds later he dropped like a meteor and transferred all of his weight to his weapon. _

"_[Heaven's Dive]!"_

_The move was so fast the giant didn't have time to parry or even block the blow and received it right on the head. Nothing happened to it for a few moments. Then suddenly the Armor started to fall into pieces._

_From where they were, the Sand-Leaf team could only observe how one-sided the fight had been; in fact, all of the fights against this group had been lacking. You would think that with all those weapons and amours they would have posed more of a threat. The only thing that they actually had over them besides that was the element of surprise; once that was gone, they were quite weak. So the fact that the blue toad summon won was far from unexpected. Still…_

"_He destroyed the giant armor in one blow," remarked Shino. _

_And what a blow it was! It was so powerful that it threw the whole team to the ground… two hundred meters away from the point of impact. Shikamaru was about to comment on that when suddenly the night sky darkened – The summon was now right on top of them._

_The toad smiled. "That was entertaining kid," he finally said, "You know what? I think you've just earned the right to learn my name. It's Gamajin," his eyes narrowed "remember it." he then returned to his jovial mood "Anyways, keep 'em coming, kid."_

"_Y-yes Boss!" Naruto stammered, relieved this didn't appear to be his last summon ever. _

"…_I kind of get why you didn't want to summon him," the Chunin commented once the summon dispelled._

_Naruto gave him a __**look**__, but then he shook his head and hugged his knees. "They're all scary like that," the blonde whimpered, "How am I supposed to gain their respect if they can squash me like bug? And they look like freaking yakuza of all people."_

_Shikamaru and the rest of the joint team gave him a sympathetic look before being on their way._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"…I don't think your friends will be coming for you after what happened back there."

The man had no idea what the Chunin was getting at, but from his perplexed expression, decided not to question it. "What do you want?" he asked tensely.

Shikamaru decided to be blunt. "Who sent you after Naruto?"

"You might as well kill me, Konoha scum."

This only pushed Shikamaru to sigh. Killing was always so unproductive. Sure you got less trouble out of it, but it turned out to be the opposite when you took a step back to look at the big picture. And speaking of being killed, he hadn't bitten his tongue yet, hadn't he? "Kill you?" repeated the young Nara, "No – things don't get that easy for you." He paused to get a good look at his captive. "You can either be sent to the Konoha jail without going through painful interrogation – much. Or you can annoy me and end up like one of your friends in those double armors." When he saw the man pale a bit he grinned wryly, "It'll be interesting to see if your limbs can still feel pain after being permanently crippled, Or maybe I should let Shino and Gaara play with you," he mused coldly.

Yaiba stared at Shikamaru, who returned him a bored glance. It continued for a while until the man caved in and nodded. "You'd actually do it, wouldn't you?" To what Shikamaru shrugged, saying, "You can still refuse and find out."

The man said nothing for a while. "How did you know we were hired by someone?"

"Oh that? You'd have to be either stupid, ignorant, or both to go after Naruto and take Gaara as an afterthought." The man blinked. "See? That's exactly why I know you've been hired. And whoever did must hate you to send you unprepared against the Sand's human weapon."

Yaiba did a double take. "You mean he's _the_ Gaara? But he didn't kill anyone."

Well, at least he wasn't that ignorant. Maybe that little tidbit of info would help him loosen his tongue. From the way he was grinding his teeth, Shikamaru surmised the man had realized he had been set up. "Like I said I just want to know who wanted my partner in his custody, so how about a name? I promise we'll get them for you as well."

The man glared. "So, you don't think we're a threat, do you?"

Trivia: how do you tactfully say to someone that they suck? "Well…"

"Of course you wouldn't care how or why our village was destroyed by Konoha," spat the staff wielder, "You guys were so greedy you didn't even leave a chance to let hidden villages like Flower and Glass fend for themselves."

Shikamaru's sympathy decreased as the grown shinobi in front of him kept ranting about how evil Konoha was and how they destroyed rival villages for their own profit. Somehow the Chunin couldn't care less about his back story or his patriotism. No matter how justified you thought you were, in the end it was all a matter of perspective. Besides, he still hadn't stopped after a good five minutes. _This is getting tedious_, thought the young genius.

"So?" he suddenly snapped, stopping the monologue of his prisoner.

"So! Didn't you hear a thing I said you stupid brat?"

"Does your life suck? Yes, yes it does." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "But I stopped caring about your reasons the moment you thought of using my _friend_ as a stepping stone for your revenge." The man froze. "_You_ attacked _us_ – expecting we wouldn't retaliate was stupid, dumbass." Seeing that the man calmed down, Shikamaru continued, "And from what you said this all happened during the last shinobi war, but back then, _everyone_ was the enemy, so if you got caught in the middle all I can say is tough luck."

"You're just saying that because you're on the winning team," he retorted bitterly.

Shikamaru thought about the possibility before replying, "Maybe I am… I still can't give you reason since it was Naruto you attacked." Oh and why even bother! Trying to dance around the real issue was damn troublesome. "Besides, you guys _really_ suck." There! He said it. "From the way you fought I'd put you as a middle tier Chunin at least, but I can't mention anyone else," _Because they not worth even mentioning_. "Did at least one of them learn to mold chakra properly? Or at least learn to coordinate their attacks? Even for _Genin_ they suck." _And that in itself says a lot about them. It probably was the reason why they came up with those armors and gadgets._

Yaiba was trying to break from his restraints in order to shut up his captor with no success in sight. Shikamaru shrugged. "Food for thought – Has it ever occurred to you that your soldiers could have attacked us _during_ your fight with Naruto or while we were busy with the three super-armors? Or that you could have interfered at _anytime_?"

Shikamaru perplexedly watched the man stared at him with wide eyes before starting to repeatedly slam the back his head against the tree he was tied to in frustration. After seven hits or so the staff wielder gave the Chunin a strange look. "Why are you telling me this?"

The Chunin shrugged. "Dunno," he honestly answered, "maybe I think you could have done better. Anyway that doesn't matter, because I don't think you'll be seeing your friends to share that wisdom anytime soon." Having said his piece of mind Shikamaru decided the time for chitchat was over and caught his captive in his shadow. The man could feel the jutsu going around his right arm. "So... that client of yours…?"

Fortunately for Yaiba, he decided not to test Shikamaru's resolve and told him what he wanted to know.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Naruto asked.

"No, that's why we're relying on your clones," replied his friend. "You get out of there at the smallest hint of trouble, got it?"

Naruto did a mock salute. He was thinking about harassing Shikamaru a bit more when his eyes fell on their captive. "You sure you don't want to come with us?" he asked. They didn't know what those armored shinobi would come up with next – he didn't want to leave his friend unprepared.

The Chunin snorted, "…to have a repeat of what happened yesterday? Just leave me alone and let me recover already."

Shikamaru was kinda right, and Shino would be remaining with their teammate in case something happened anyway. Seeing no reason to worry, Naruto smiled before setting out with Team Sand. The plan was simple – just get a feel for the new potential threat that was after him. Somehow neither he nor Shikamaru though Genta had been behind the armored shinobi. They were walking right into the unknown, hence the heavy reliance on the clones.

The client's rendezvous point wasn't too far from the base Naruto and his friends had just thrashed. That meant a couple hours of travel. The trip wasn't as fun as it could have been, what with Kankuro giving him the cold shoulder and Temari giving strange looks here and there – now he knew how Shikamaru felt – ironically, only Gaara that was behaving 'normally', so he used this time to review his combat with the leader of the armored shinobi, what went well and what he needed to improve upon.

Between that and the smallest of small talk with Gaara, they finally arrived at the designed meeting place. The team stopped about a kilometer from there as a safety precaution and Naruto quickly got to work. He made two clones – he had one transform into Yaiba while the other one became a battered version of himself. Once he and the Sand Siblings gave them a look and made sure they could play the part, he sent them for scouting.

The clones made it to an apparently decrepit shack, barely visible from the road from the way the trees and the vines covered it. The inside on the other hand looked solid enough. The Yaiba look-alike ventured in carrying his injured target and found a man waiting for him in a room full of books. The area was small, so the Genin figured they were in a study. _This place gives me the creeps_, thought the blond.

"Glad you could make it." greeted the host, "Hope there wasn't too much trouble with the target."

He was one of those men who didn't look young or old – he didn't look like anything really beside his blond hair, and that put Naruto on alert. He scanned the area; no one else in the room. If this was an ambush the others must be waiting in the other rooms. He decided to play the game and answer the inquiry.

"Are you kidding me?" growled the fake Yaiba. He was going to add something else but thought better to revise what he was about to say. _Shikamaru said Yaiba didn't know about my secret, right_? "The little brat fought like a demon, and don't start me on that red head of yours – no wonder you wanted them both." He dropped the bloodied Naruto unceremoniously on the floor and returned to the conversation. "But at least we got to put the fullsuits to the test," he added darkly.

"I must say I'm impressed," said the man with a smile. Naruto shivered when he saw it – somehow that smile looked even more unnatural that Gaara's. What the man said next gave him a reason to do so again: "I didn't expect for you to be such an actor, _Uzumaki_."

To give credit to the Genin, he had been able to disguise his surprise as mild confusion nicely. "…what are you talking about?" he asked, hoping to throw off this man he now considered dangerous.

"Your transformation technique is quite something," he remarked instead, "you got him to the fine details." And still that damn unnerving smile.

_Oh well, no use in hiding now_, thought the clone. He snapped his fingers. "Damn! How did you find out?" he asked with his wide grin and sheepish head scratching. Might as well try to get something out of this instead of denying everything and get dispatched too quickly.

"I knew from the beginning," corrected the host, to Naruto's surprise. "You see we're been keeping an eye on you, Naruto Uzumaki."

The blond felt a tinge of worry about what would happen next, but remembered he was only a clone, so everything would be fine. But his worries didn't stop there. They had been keeping an eye on him, which meant…!

_Damn it! Shikamaru!_

Both clones leapt in order to attack the man once they realized what that meant…

A bit far away from there, Naruto suddenly snapped his head towards the direction they had taken to come here before bolting. His companions followed him as best as they could, given his stamina and how he was using he chakra enhanced limbs to move about. They had tried calling after him but to no avail – the blond had only one thing in mind.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

When Naruto arrived back to camp – in record time – the first thing he noticed was the slumped form of Yaiba where he had been restrained, dead. Of course that did absolutely nothing to relieve him of his fears. He then saw Shino walk towards him looking like his usual self. "Shino!" in two steps the blond was near him. "Is everything alright?"

"Shikamaru and I are fine." he said, looking behind the blond. "Where are the others?"

"Huh? I dunno – they shouldn't be too far behind."

"That's good, because we need to talk," said a third voice.

"Shikamaru! You're okay!" The blond was relieved, but only for a moment. He felt his worry resurface when he saw the grim look on his friend.

"Well 'okay' wouldn't be the way I'd put it," retorted the Chunin, "And you guys might want to sit for this one." He took a deep breath once his friends got comfortable. "I just got a visit."

Shikamaru's account of what happened took about five minutes; it took about fifteen to digest the information. The campsite was eerily quiet. Naruto had nothing to say, though he tried multiple times. And what could he say really? He still hadn't figured the implications of what happened. Somehow it took out all the taste of the earlier victory. Shino looked like he was affected by the news. He remembered the bug user had no idea he and Shikamaru faced that kind of enemy. Shikamaru looked tired, but whatever he was thinking about this event he kept it to himself.

Eventually Team Sand returned. The Sand Siblings found Team Leaf still in a heavy atmosphere. Naruto was sprawled on his back, staring at nothing, Shino was up and leaning against a tree, thinking no doubt, Shikamaru only had eyes for the flames in front of him.

"Naruto?" an out of breath Kankuro called, "Why the hell did you take off like that?"

"And what's up with you guys?" asked Temari.

Somehow Gaara read the atmosphere correctly and kept his mouth shut.

"…nothing. Nothing happened," answered Shino.

Gaara Kankuro and Temari only looked at each other.

_What the hell happened here?_

_**Who was Shikamaru's visitor? The truth behind the armored shinobi is revealed next chapter.**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: New Chapter! 500 reviews! New feature! So much Excitement! Anyways, thanks for all the support so far and for this new milestone. I'll wait until the end of the arc for the mentions.**

**Like I said, new feature: Jutsu-pedia. I've put it in my profile now and I've advertised it in the first few chapters. Hope you find it useful.**

**Now for your usual R&R snippet.**

**Rev: *The mother of all Wall-of-Texts*****  
Naru:** So… many… words…**  
SShun: **Uh oh… Um, I think that review broke him.**  
Shika: **Come on, Naruto, snap out of it. We'll walk you through it.**  
Naru:** I can't… I can't do it, man! The words… they're out to get me!**  
SShun: **… Wow. Anyhow *_cracks knuckles_* let's do this.

**_I'm going to start with training comments.****  
SShun: **O.K. Elemental training: not before a good while.**  
Naru:** Eh? But why?**  
Shika: **Well, there's a reason only those aiming to promote to Jonin try to master a second element.**  
Naru:** And that is?**  
Shika: **It's like learning to write a novel when you don't fully know how to read yet… or something like that.**  
Naru:** …I don't get it.**  
SShun: **…It's like learning to do a five star meal while only being able to cook crappy ramen.**  
Naru:** Oh! You mean like if the basics aren't solid it loses its effectiveness, right? I totally get that, you know.**  
SShun &Shika:**…**  
SShun: **Right. Next, the weights; Naruto won't really need them for that per say. I have other plans in mind. As for the chakra control… well you'll see eventually.

**_Next I'll discuss plot comments. […] I really liked the first two Naruto movies, Snow and Gelel. Any chance we'll be seeing those later on? […]Next item of business, will we be seeing Naruto in any of the fun filler arcs so he and Shikamaru can commiserate about girl problems[…]?****  
SShun: **I… only saw the Snow movie to be honest.**  
Naru:** …really now?**  
SShun: **In fact, when I heard about the whooping 100-filler episodes I decided to drop the anime altogether. I'm more of a manga person anyway.**  
Shika: **100 fillers? Yeah, I'd probably stop watching that too.**  
SShun: **But filler arcs? Why not? I usually to put my filler within the plot though. But don't worry, they'll have a good deal of girl problems to commiserate about soon *_chuckles ominously_*.**  
Shika & Naru:** *_Gulps_*

**_Now, onto my compliments and complaints. One of them is definitely the fact that no one has corrected Naruto on his assumptions of Sakura's motives lately****  
SShun: **Interesting… I think you're the only one to ever mention this.**  
Shika: **Yeah, everybody else's been commenting about how violent she was – or will be – so far. Good insight.**  
Naru:** So Sakura's good now? I knew it!**  
SShun: **No she's not, she's simply not that bad, Naruto.**  
Naru:** …yeah, I knew that.**  
SShun & Shika: **…**  
SShun: **About the killing… yeah that is odd. Well so far he has only killed fodder, and even then I don't think he even realized he did(He was in a Kyuubi state after all). In both cases he was too preoccupied with the aftermath.**  
**

** SShun: **At any rate, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic.**  
Naru:** Just don't right those gigantic reviews anymore.**  
Shika: **Nah, don't listen to him. That was fine. T'was a pretty good read.**  
SShun: **Yeah, don't listen to Naruto keep writing your reviews.**  
Naru:** But the words… *_hugs knees and rocks back and forth_* so many words…**  
SShun & Shika: ***_sighs_*


	33. Visit

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

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**33. Peacemakers: Visit**

**_Who was that mysterious visitor? A new enemy or…?_**

Travelling back to the Wheat village was turning out to be gloomy so far. The only sound that could be heard was that of feet jumping off branches or leaves rustling from the sudden movements. At first Kankuro had tried to lighten the mood early on, but all he won for his effort was bump on the head from Temari, who got sick of his crude humor.

Shikamaru for one was grateful for the silence. It helped him analyze in detail what happened last night. Some of the details still were beyond his grasp at the moment but still gave him an idea of what _he_ had been after during their meeting.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

_While Naruto was off trying to catch the one responsible for the whole armored shinobi incident, Shikamaru was sleeping. At least until noise woke him up. He knew Shino was keeping watch and would be back when the others arrived, but the Chunin only heard a single set of footsteps, meaning his teammate had returned alone. **Must be trouble**, thought the boy, **you'd think I'd get some rest with all the muscle pain.**_

_Shikamaru moved his covers aside and got up. Might as well get on with whatever was coming. "So what's up S—?"_

_The man in front him was most definitely not Shino. He was old looking and covered in bandages, mainly the right side of his face. The other distinguishing feature was the black clothes he was wearing covering up his right arm entirely. No headband – maybe a rogue shinobi. The Chunin immediately took out kunai and got ready for anything._

_"No need to fight Shikamaru; I just wanted to chat," the man said cordially._

_The young boy didn't know much about his new foe, only that he was skilled enough to go past Shino… or through him. First thing in order; creating some distance between them. Shikamaru Body Flickered out of harm's way only to feel an arm on his shoulder. The Chunin froze. **Damn! That guy has speed as well.** _

_"Like I said," The bandaged man tried again, "I'm only here to talk – no need to act rashly boy." _

_That had quite the opposite effect on Shikamaru, who used the Body Flicker again. This time the man did not move, giving the Chunin time to control his excited heart. "What have you done to Shino?" he asked, trying to buy time._

_"Nothing, he is a bit busy right now, but he will come to no harm as well." _

_Shikamaru shrugged while keeping his eyes on the newcomer. Finally he moved towards the nearest tree and leaned back into it. He tried to think about any way to get of his mess. It wasn't like he had the time to really settle down and think against such a strong opponent either. **Man… the stress keeps piling… I really need a break**. He made a quick glance and noticed another problem with this whole altercation; the lack of a third party._

_"…So you came to kill our hostage," Shikamaru concluded grimly._

_The man nodded, apparently satisfied with the boy's reasoning. "Yaiba was a liability, you see."_

_"Because you hired him," he pressed._

_"Because my subordinate hired him… but in the end it comes back to the same thing, doesn't it?" he gave Shikamaru another appraising look. "You have picked my interest, boy – you and Naruto both." When said boy did nothing to stare blankly at him he chuckled. "I believe introductions are in order since you don't recognize me." He gave him a cold, calculating look as he announced, "I am known as Danzo."_

_ "Danzo?" **The third most powerful elder! The infamous rival of the Third, the Eternal Second? **_**That_ Danzo?_**_ On a scale from one to ten about how much trouble he currently was in, including Genta, Shikamaru figured he had just passed the thirties. "You employed those shinobi to go against Naruto…?" Something about that seemed… off. Weren't the elders on the same page? And he knew Homura and Koharu were not on Genta's side. _

_"Yes. I must say their combat skills left to be desired. Though that armor was quite interesting," he mused._

_"Are you working under Genta as well?" he almost blurted._

_Danzo glared. "Do not **insult** me boy. I work for Konoha – only for Konoha. Let's just say he and him had a… deal of sorts."_

_Ah… that explained things. "…about Naru—no, the Kyuubi."_

_The Konoha elder did nothing to either confirm or infirm that theory and instead went on with his explication. "I acted on the grounds that my… partner left me – that Naruto was a pathetic excuse for a shinobi and that other people could be much more suited for his… gift._

_"And so a test was in order," Shikamaru finished. "And the result…?"_

_"He passed obviously. Which is a shame – it seems I will have to find other means to reach my goal." Shikamaru said nothing the only thing he could do for now was gather info and hope Danzo would be kind enough to be true to his words. "...And that brings us to the present."_

**_In other words: Why are you still here? _**

_"I wanted to meet you for an interview I guess – let's just say I usually take care of recruitment personally." The young Chunin's incredulous stare made the old man grin. "It's astounding how short you're selling yourself, boy." Danzo let his eyes wander for a while "Of course you're nothing to look at **now**, but with that mind of yours, the possibilities are… interesting; No wonder Genta tried to get his hands on you." His eyes returned to the Chunin. "How about joining me, Shikamaru? Unlike Genta, I can guarantee you Naruto's safety. In fact, you would be doing exactly what you're presently doing. It would benefit Konoha to have Naruto loyal and at his best."_

_"…Only me?"_

_"By having you, I already have Naruto. Knowing Naruto I'm afraid he would strongly disagree with most of my… methods."_

_Shikamaru didn't think about the offer twice. "I'm sorry to disappoint you sir, but I don't think I can give you a clear answer with the info you've given me." **which is nothing, mind you**. Danzo gave him a knowing glance. Shikamaru went on, "Of course, since we're all working for Konoha, we're on the same side right?" The Chunin received a cunning smile for answer. The young Nara gulped – definitely someone he didn't want as an enemy. But he still had one more thing to say._

_"And you might want to rethink your results," he added, "Naruto didn't use the Kyuubi Chakra. He won't rely on it or develop it because he decided he won't use it."_

_The man barely looked surprised. "I feared as much – Genta really didn't help the boy's motivation on that front. At this rate, I really might have to interfere." Shikamaru tensed. Seeing this the Konoha elder shrugged. "Ah don't worry. I won't be going **after** Naruto again. It wouldn't do good to antagonize you when I'm trying to recruit you," he then had a small smirk, "…or would it? No what I meant was it seems you don't know how cunning Naruto's tenant really is." **Food for thought**, noted the Chunin. "Besides, if I could, I'd rather get by without harming the fourth's legacy._

_Shikamaru blinked. That's the first time he ever heard that expression. "You're talking about Naruto?"_

_"You know, why they kept Naruto's gift a secret is understandable – though I find it stupid. But why they would keep his heritage a secret from even himself baffles me," Danzo said, walking away._

_"Hey wait! What do you mean by that?"_

_"We will see each other again, Shikamaru."_

_And just like that he was gone, leaving behind a very confused and upset Nara._

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_That was deliberate_, thought the Chunin – Danzo wanted them to know about his alliance with Genta and more importantly, that this alliance was now over. He really didn't know what to think about the man, except that he was dangerous. That the elder wanted Naruto to harness the power of the Kyuubi told him he had plans for him. The fact he didn't care about Naruto's opinion on the matter told him the situation was troublesome; Danzo probably had plans to make it happen, with or without the blonde's consent.

_And here I was thinking Homura and Koharu were bad_.

Of course he hadn't named last night's intruder to the others. Shino knowing that piece of info would make things… more complicated, not to mention hard to hide from Neji. And to think, here he was looking forward to going back home. He sighed; _too many conspiracies for one thirteen-year-old; this is why I hate politics_.

He was at that point of his thoughts when Naruto got close to him. Judging from his expression the blond seemed to have snapped out of his own funk. Maybe he should start relaxing too. Naruto scratched his head. "Hey Shikamaru," Well, just from the greeting the Chunin could see Naruto wasn't quite done yet. "Um, do you think now would be a good time to see what the scroll we um …'retrieved' is all about?"

Shikamaru came to a halt so fast Naruto continued his conversation without him for a while. The black haired boy wanted to slap himself. He had almost brought the scroll back to the village without opening it – he nearly screwed up big time. The genius took out a scroll and looked at it, wondering how to take care of that potential threat, giving Naruto ample time to notice Shikamaru's sudden lack of velocity.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Naruto shouted when he realized Shikamaru had simply disappeared on him. His tirade came to a halt when he saw the paper on Shikamaru's hand. "Oh, so that's the scroll right, let me take a look at it." He snatched the scroll and when he opened it he looked surprised. "This is a storage scroll," he immediately noticed.

"Yup; the scroll you're thinking about is inside. Don't activate it yet!" he quickly added and the curious Naruto closed the scroll. He tried to ask a question, but after a moment his face brightened up, only to return to his earlier confusion. "Well what do we do with it then?"

"What are you guys on about now?" asked Temari. Her brothers and Shino were also near, so soon enough, it turned into a group meeting.

"Oh just talking about what to do with the scroll we got two days ago." Then Naruto's eyes went unfocused for a bit, but then he shook his head and returned to the problem at hand. "Anyway, this scroll could be a trap, so I was asking him what to do with it."

Shikamaru nodded, hiding his amazement; Naruto's insight surprised him. By their attitudes the others probably believed Naruto had simply resumed the conversation they had before, when in fact the blond figured out part of the problem for himself. Little by little, Naruto was starting think things through, even if he needed a little push. Enough on that though – back to the matter at hand.

"Naruto, if one shadow clone makes other clones, can he dispel them?" Naruto nodded. The Chunin grinned. "I think I might have a plan."

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The legendary Toad Hermit Jiraiya was enjoying a peaceful meal as it had been a good day. The visit to his contact here had revealed to be more helpful than he had imagined, he was able to finally payback that insufferable Noble who pissed him so much last time – so what he was flirting with his wife! It was to be seen as a compliment, a compliment! – and even got some inspiration for his next masterpiece. He couldn't help but grin lecherously; it was a good day to be him.

"Well you're a tough one to find, even with my tracking dogs."

The man in was such a good mood that the familiar voice barely affected if. In fact, he was glad he was caught by that man – at least they shared similar taste in good fiction.

"Oh, Kakashi." He turned around to see that this time the Jonin was accompanied. "So, why are you kids out here?"

"We've been sent to find you," answered the young man jovially. "Nice place by the way," he added taking a closer look at the small stand. He quickly returned to the old sannin and told him, "It's time Jiraiya."

Jiraiya had a feeling it would come to this, it had been a while since he had any news of Konoha after all. He didn't want to go back yet because something was definitely going on and he needed to confirm with his contact about the new 'research facility' around here. At least there were lots more research gathering spots in Konoha. "Well, I guessed it was about time," he finally admitted before nodding.

Then a perverted look appeared. "But since you're here Kakashi, you can get the first a copy of the manuscript – this hasn't even gone to the editor yet."

Kakashi's only visible eye widened considerably. He took the gift with trembling hands, getting a feel for the tattered cover before thanking the mentor of his mentor profusely. Jiraiya looked at Minato's student with pride – it had skipped a generation with his student, but Kakashi would keep 'The Legacy' the sannin's own teacher had started. The goofy look on Kakashi's only visible part when he opened the book confirmed it.

"So you _are_ the one who writes the books Kakashi reads all the time," said a voice the old shinobi quickly decided was annoying.

"Yeah, and what of it, kid?" he answered cautiously.

"Naruto was right – you are a pervert."

Jiraiya froze. "A pervert? Me?" _Kids these days, no respect, and even worse, ignorance_ "Listen. And listen well kid," He said doing the kabuki performance he enjoyed so much, "I am, the super pervert, awesome toad hermit, _The Great Master Jiraiya_." The boy was speechless, mouth hanging open, no doubt awed by his awesomeness.

"Oh, and by the way, they want you to be the new Hokage," added Kakashi.

"Ugh!" He should have known that Kakashi hadn't come only for the next tome of '_Make Out Paradise'_ – he would have come alone then. "I swear The Elder crows are behind this one." He sighed. How many times would he have to refuse before they left him alone? "I guess I'll have to explain myself clearly this time."

Kakashi nodded wisely and the toad hermit got up, his meal finished. He followed the man and his protégé out of town, where he and Kakashi discussed the intricacies of his research in the Water Country. Not far from them, the raven haired boy was far from amused.

"I bet even I could be a better Hokage than him," muttered the disgruntled Genin.

"Is that so?" said Jiraiya, giving him a measured look, "Even though you still can't hold a candle to Itachi? I'd be surprised," scoffed the sannin.

Sasuke froze where he was, and so did Kakashi, though he sighed instead of glaring like the Uchiha brat was. "What was that!" he asked coldly. As expected his eyes narrowed dangerously and his pupils turned red when his brother was mentioned. That attitude would get him killed one day, Jiraiya thought.

"You knew him?"

The hermit rolled his eyes "Surprised I know Itachi? Of course I knew him! Hell, all the adults of Konoha know him. He was considered a prodigy there after all," Jiraiya scratched his chin thoughtfully, "which makes him that much more of a pain in the ass today." Seeing the incredulous look on the kid's face made him grin. "You know, I _am_ stronger than Itachi. I'm a sannin after all."

"I don't believe you."

The perverted shinobi bore a teasing grin that would remind anyone of a certain blonde. "Want to try me? I promise I won't kill you."

"Jiraiya, if I may," Kakashi interjected, "I don't want to carry Sasuke back to Konoha – it did take quite a while to find you."

Jiraiya shrugged, apparently subdued. "Fine, let's just go back." But as they started moving again he muttered loud enough for Sasuke to hear, "I wouldn't want to hurt your flimsy princess anyway."

"[Fireball Technique]!"

The legendary shinobi turned around and smiled. The boy had the gall to attack one of the sannin with a fire technique of all things. This would definitely be a fun return trip to Konoha.

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Shikamaru took the scroll without a word and looked over it, relieved that the plan had worked without a hitch.

It was simplicity itself; Naruto's clone would open the scroll transformed into that red armored shinobi he had impersonated before, ready for action. If this scroll was a trap either of two things would happen – the trap would affect the one who opened the scroll directly or act as a beacon. Naruto already received his orders about what to in both cases so it was all fine.

Naruto moved into an empty space far enough that he couldn't see his camp and had proceeded with the plan. When the clone opened the scroll he disappeared. Alarmed, Naruto had quickly cancelled the jutsu and smiled he received the memories of his scapegoat: the transformed double had the time to leave them paralyzing and sleeping gas, courtesy of Kankuro. Fortunately, the scroll remained in the clearing, trap free.

"That went well," chirped a jovial blond when it was all said it done.

Everyone watched in interest as Shikamaru glanced over the information so none of them missed how his expression darkened when he finished his skimming.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru gave him the scroll for sole answer. The blond noticed that only the name of the country stood out, And for a good reason too. "The Rice Country," muttered Naruto, now fully aware of the stakes such a deed could bring. It would be the perfect way to at least get a foot into the Sound. No wonder they would steal it from a civilian.

"But why use this as bait," the Genin wondered.

"I don't think that was part of their plan," suggested Shikamaru, "The place I snuck into didn't look like a lair – it was a secret base… my guess is that once they stole it, they figured they might as well use it against us." Naruto thought it made sense and so did Shino. "The problem is: what do we do with it? It's not like we can just bring it back."

The group quickly understood what the Chunin meant. Making use of this scroll would be akin to admitting they were the ones behind the theft… which would bring them right back to square one. At least for the Leaf side of the squad.

Kankuro came with a proposition. "How about you let us use the scroll then? It would be a waste to just keep it, and we still own that freaky bastard for taking out… our Kazekage," he finished tactfully.

"No way that'll happen!" Naruto yelled, "I took care of the distraction, and Shikamaru was the one to put his ass on the line to get the damn scroll; why should you get it? You did nothing!"

Kankuro's eye twitched. "Damn it brat, you're the reason I got nothing to do since the mission started, you glory hog! And what are you going to do with the scroll, huh? That's right, you can't do squat! So let the adults talk this through and shut your damn mouth!"

It was the blonde's turn to tense. "What's that I hear? You want me to kick your ass? You got it puppet bastard!"

"Wait Naruto," Shikamaru interjected, "I think he's right."

"What?" Naruto whirled around to argue, but it fell short once he noticed it was Shikamaru that said that. "But, I… _he's right_?"

"Just listen up." The Nara sighed. "You have to admit that we really can't use the scroll the way things currently are, and the Sound has become a common enemy now, so why not make use of that? Besides we are working on an alliance, aren't we?" Naruto begrudgingly admitted that the reasoning was sound. Shikamaru grinned. "That doesn't mean we'll just give them the scroll though; we'll share it." That grabbed everyone's attention.

"And how do you plan we do that?" asked Temari.

Shikamaru took the scroll from Naruto's hand and gave it to her. "Well the first step would be doing this." Temari took the deed, and pocketed it before asking, "Okay, now what?" The young Chunin smirked. "You give it back."

Shikamaru really enjoyed confusing people. The startled looks they usually gave him never got old.

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Asuma took a drag of his cigarette. Not far from him Choji and Ino were sprawled on the ground, panting heavily. He glanced at the duo before chuckling to himself – he had really worked them into exhaustion this time. The laid back Jonin couldn't remember the last time his team had given its all during a spar. While true Shikamaru wasn't here to waste the day away – a relief; his plans were getting increasingly annoying – it still was surprising to see the rest of Ino-Shika-Cho with such vigor.

After Shikamaru left for that diplomatic mission, Ino started hounding her clan for more training and jutsu, and she came back with one simple, but damn effective one: Mind Disorientation Technique. If you looked at her special hand seal, you instantly felt like you were sailing in the middle of a storm. Naturally he was used to it, but the fact that the technique was still able to stop him for a full second was a testament to her mastery of the move. Add to that her recent focus on long range weapons and Ino Yamanaka was shaping up to become a formidable kunoichi.

And then there was Choji. Impressive couldn't even begin to describe the rate of the young Akimichi's progress. The plump boy had reached a state where he could seamlessly use the Partial Enlargement Technique and instead of going further into his clan techniques, decided to focus solely on taijutsu as well. He had even begun to visit Rock Lee and took some tips for his personal training. The result: he trained hard focusing on strength, contrary to Lee's focus on speed. In the course of weeks he had gotten stronger, much stronger, not to mention a bit faster, which was always his glaring weakness.

Ino and Choji had finally gotten up so Asuma went on with his review. "You did very well today. Ino, your aim with projectiles his getting better and the new strategy you used in tandem with Choji would have worked on me if I hadn't been looking out for it." he then turned to his other pupil, "Choji, your taijutsu is becoming fearsome, it's a shame you got me as a training partner. We have to figure out a way for you to fight against weapon users; you try looking into that." He gave the two another appreciative nod before dismissing them.

As they left however, Asuma couldn't help but ask the question that had been tormenting him since their incredible progress. "Are you sure you're not going too fast? If Shikamaru comes back to see you that far ahead… I don't know what'll happen. Hopefully he'll try to catch up, but he might want to slack off even more and let you guys do all the work."

The blond kunoichi snorted. "He's the Chunin, Asuma – if anything we're only catching up to him."

Choji looked at his hands before shaking his head. "Actually, at the rate things are going I'm just making sure not to widen the margin." The Jonin and even Ino looked at him in surprise as the boy started to walk again. "If those two are together, they'll definitely get stronger, so I have to do my best as well."

Ino and her teacher exchanged a confused look. "Is this the same Shikamaru we're talking about?" the young girl asked. Asuma took another puff. "I guess so. Choji would know best after all."

Ino nodded and went her way, leaving the Jonin to his thoughts. After a while he chuckled.

_At this rate I'll find myself without a team again. _

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The day after the return of the joint team, Yugao was surprised to learn that their ambassador was currently nursing a broken arm and leg in the general hospital. When she got to his room the rest of her team was already there. The atmosphere was quite frigid however. Her eyes went from the terrorized man on the bed to the three shinobi under her command currently glaring at him and she had to cough in order to get their attention. "What happened here?"

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed. "We beat the tar out of him; that's what happened!"

"Okay…" the ANBU took a deep, calming breath, "Any reason why I shouldn't be gutting you guys, enjoying every second of it?"

For sole answer Shikamaru stood up and took out a scroll. The diplomat blanched once he saw it, knowing what would be coming next. Yugao took note as she opened the paper and looked through it. The atmosphere actually became colder. The kunoichi slowly closed the scroll. "What's this?" she asked threateningly.

Shikamaru pointed to the bedridden ambassador. "Why don't you ask him? We found him in his drawer after all."

Yugao re-read the paper. Once she was done confirming this scroll did in fact contain plans to sabotage the mission she asked to be left alone with Goichi. "He and I have _things_ we need to discuss." Shino, Shikamaru and Naruto gladly left the room.

The next day, the Leaf trio was pleased to see that the diplomat had now received an extreme makeover. With the broken arm and leg he had received from them two days before, he looked in quite a rough shape.

"Oh my, what happened to you?" asked his fellow negotiator.

"I fell of the stairs." The man replied in a tone that clearly meant he wouldn't elaborate.

The rest of the room tried very hard to hide their amusement. But the negotiations still had to come to a close, and so they quickly got down to business. Strangely enough, Naruto seemed alert during the meeting. Goichi was curious about that point until the Suna diplomat spoke.

"We both know that the discussions already came to a close but something interesting came to light, and I feel both Konoha and Suna could benefit from it." The ambassador then proceeded to put a scroll on the table earning a raised eyebrow. The man from Suna smiled broadly. "This is a way for us to infiltrate the Rice Country."

The man quickly grabbed the scroll and his eyes grew wide. He slammed his working hand on the table. "This…? How did you get this?"

"…From one of our routine missions around the borders. We intercepted a group from Kiri and found this." Seeing his fellow negotiator so livid, the man became concerned. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No. nothing's wrong," said the man. However he clearly looked like the opposite was true.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

"Well that was refreshing,"

Naruto had just exclaimed what everybody teen had been thinking. Something about seeing that diplomat beat up and thoroughly humiliated felt extremely gratifying. Once they had spoken about the scroll, younger shinobi had been dismissed in order to 'take the time to strengthen their bonds for one last time'. Since they had absolutely nothing else to do, the group of six decided to do just that.

"So how about we pair up, like we did before?" the blond Jinchuriki asked, "Only this time anyone goes, since I'm pretty sure we're okay with each other."

The others nodded, but then a strange thing happened; only two names were proposed. Naruto couldn't figure what surprised the most – the fact that he had been called out by Temari, or that everyone else wanted to be paired up with Shikamaru – even Gaara – or that said Chunin hadn't made a comment on that particular phenomenon. Then again, looking around he noticed that the Nara was missing. _Smart guy..._ thought the blond. Well he had an idea about whom he definitely did _not_ want to pair with.

Naruto laughed nervously. "I guess I'll go look for my teammate – I'll let you guys know when I find him."

The others watched him leave a bit confused until Temari realized he was really just trying to ditch her. "Hey wait up, stupid brat!"

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

Shikamaru was watching the clouds, grateful that his companions hadn't realized he had given them the slip. It's not like he didn't enjoy the company, but he had spent the last few days, stressed, strained, beaten, not to mention stressed, and really needed the time to let his mind wander for a bit… which was exactly why this was the perfect moment for sand to suddenly obscure the vision of the clouds. The young genius watched Gaara's element surround him with the most aggravation he could muster. He used a Body Flicker to move out of the way and reappeared face to face with Gaara.

"Gaara."

"Shikamaru," Gaara replied nodding to the Chunin.

The boy was about to make a remark on his greeting methods but instead he let out a sigh. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The red head stared for a while. "Be careful with my sister," he said, and Shikamaru remained silent because he was pretty sure he had no idea what the other boy was talking about. Furthermore he didn't want to – his interest had vanished the second he heard the word 'sister'. Since he wasn't in any hurry to die however, he waited for the sand user to elaborate. "She is a bit like me," he continued after a short pause, "She doesn't have many peers she can call friends."

"…Because she's your sister," the Chunin guessed.

"…Because she believes in me now," Gaara amended.

_Is he supposed to make that frightening amount of sense?_ Shikamaru marveled. _I guess I understand where Temari comes from, what with Naruto and all the—_ "Wait, you're saying I actually _am_ her friend?" The young boy couldn't be more confused. "With the threats, and the death fights, and her just going out of her way to be a _troublesome_ _woman_?" _and scary, even more so than Ino._ That got a shudder out of him.

"…She has a twisted sense of the definition."

Shikamaru was gob-smacked. _You think…? And coming from you of all the people actually says a lot about that._

"If you hurt her I will kill you," he threatened, his sand rising in emphasis.

"Oh come on!" the disgruntled teen, "I mean, who's going to take my side _when she_'ll hurt me." Gaara let out a trace of a smile at that. "Yeah, yeah, my problems are comedic gold, _whoop de doo_."

Gaara blinked. "You're not afraid of me," he said, staring at Shikamaru. "The way you act…"

"Is similar to Naruto's," finished the Chunin. "I'm just treating you the same way I'm treating him – like a human being." Gaara cocked his head. "Strange." Shikamaru snorted. "That's the problem: it shouldn't _be_ strange. The way your siblings are treating you now… that's normal."

Gaara gathered the sand he spread out back into his gourd. "Talking with you is like talking with Naruto." Shikamaru tried to make sense of that sentence but to no avail – he never said anything stupid or obnoxious did he? "We will talk again."

"Any chances the next talk doesn't end up with me almost buried in sand?"

The Sand user smiled before disappearing in a swirl of sand.

_Troublesome bastard._

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

"Hey there, Shikamaru; you haven't forgotten about our date, have you?"

"What date?" asked the annoyed Nara, who had been interrupted from his cloud gazing not even ten minutes ago. "We didn't _have_ a date. It's hard to go out and have fun when you're nursing a _broken arm_ because _some kunoichi_ broke it for fun."

"So you do remember!" Kankuro said happily. "Good, that saves us trouble then. I happened to meet Chihiro yesterday…" _Read: hunt down Chihiro_, corrected Shikamaru. "…and she said we could make up that aborted double date today."

Shikamaru gave him a disgusted look. "Ugh! Can't you report it?"

Kankuro gave him a look. "We're leaving _tomorrow_."

_That's exactly my point._ "Go by yourself, then."

Kankuro twitched. "Shikamaru? You wouldn't want our beautiful, beautiful friendship to simply vanish like a sand dune, right?" seeing the dark haired teenager hadn't responded he added. "I could always set you up with my sister if you like."

Shikamaru shuddered. "Fine."

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

"So, who are you really?" asked Saki.

The blue haired girl Shikamaru had used as a shadow puppet was currently eyeing him with curiosity. He had hoped his bored expression and strategy to ignore her and try to sleep once they were in the restaurant would push her to go to Kankuro and let the puppet user deal with that, but the girl was still here, patiently waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. She didn't look like she was clueless either; persistent without being violent. He couldn't bring himself to be annoyed – she wasn't acting like a troublesome girl after all.

"Can't really say I'm your average Joe, now can I?" said the boy, finally giving up.

"Nope," said the girl who brightened once Shikamaru started talking. "So, is it true you lost your parents?"

Shikamaru blinked, and then remembered what Kankuro had told him earlier and shrugged. "Nah, my folks are fine – Kankuro just says that because it attracts girls." The girl giggled. "But don't tell Kankuro I said that."

She hid her cute laugh behind her hands before claiming, "I knew it!"

They finally started making some small talk. Shikamaru was finding the whole thing not worth the trouble – he'd rather be watching clouds, really. He didn't show it because the girl in front of him seemed to have fun, and he wasn't the kind of guy to ruin the mood of a total stranger for the heck of it. That Saki girl really was interested in his life for some odd reason. She didn't exactly press for details but he could see her earnest curiosity had increased from before.

Shikamaru was wondering how to leave without sounding rude when he heard footsteps he recognized.

"Well, well, look who's here," said a taunting female voice. "Having fun, I see."

The Chunin risked a glance behind him and saw Temari taking a sadistic pleasure teasing Kankuro.

"What do you want _now_, Temari?"

"Same thing I always want, dear brother – to make your life miserable of course." She continued to torment her little brother, but when she finally saw Shikamaru and his date her smile disappeared and her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

The sudden mood made Shikamaru wonder what was up with Temari. He was about to answer the kunoichi when Saki asked, "Who's that?" When he looked at her, she wasn't smiling anymore. _What the…?_ "Is she…?"

"That's Kankuro's sister." He answered her; he then turned to answer the Sand kunoichi. "I'm eating with Saki," he told her pointing to the said girl.

Temari bristled and sneered to great shock of Shikamaru before turning all her ire towards her brother. "Come on, Don Juan," she announced, picking the young boy by the ear, "we're going back to the hotel."

Seeing the Sand Siblings leave, Shikamaru thought it would be a great opportunity for him to make himself scarce. "…Aaaand it looks like our little date is over," he announced, managing to feign regret.

"Eh? Why?" the disappointed girl in front of him exclaimed.

He pointed at Kankuro's pitiful figure and said, "Damage control; he's still my boss, after all."

"…Maybe some other time, then?" she asked hopefully.

_Wouldn't count on it._ "Sure, why not?" he then approached Chihiro, who clearly did not want her date to end like that. "Don't worry, she really is her sister." The girl looked quite relieved to hear that. Having comforted his companion's date, Shikamaru excused himself. But before he could leave and turn the street he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around to see Saki and her friend both handing him a piece of paper and both blushing.

"…What's this?"

"My address – you'll write to me, right?"

_I take back what I said; smart persistent girls are also troublesome,_ decided the Chunin. He sighed, took the papers and made a noncommittal grunt before taking off after his comrades. He found them not far from there. Kankuro looked as miserable as he thought he would and Temari looked odd. "So? Bored of your little date?" she taunted.

"Actually, yeah," admitted Shikamaru, surprising the kunoichi. "I was wondering how to get out of there." Both Sand Siblings snorted, though they reacted a bit differently. Kankuro leered at him and Temari somewhat returned to her old self. "I kind of wished you'd have crashed the party earlier," he added looking at the paper Saki had given him in annoyance, "would have saved me a lot of trouble."

"What's that?" asked Kankuro.

"…Saki wants me to write back to her," muttered the Chunin. Kankuro grinned and grabbed the Nara in a one-armed hug, congratulating him. Shikamaru gave him an odd look before giving him the other memo. "By the way, Chihiro says hi."

"I knew we would make great friends!" claimed the puppet user happily. The Nara chuckled at his friend's antics and they talked a bit about their respective dates until they had to separate due to a metal fan suddenly trying to squash them. They both look back to see a furious Temari.

"I'll kill the both of you," she announced.

Shikamaru and Kankuro exchanged a scared and clueless glance before running for their lives.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

Shikamaru had returned to the rooftops hoping that this time he wouldn't get interrupted. He had achieved a good half hour of peace and thought he had finally gotten a break. Sounds of someone nearing his direction told him otherwise. This was rapidly turning into a bad day.

"What do you want, Shino?" asked the Chunin tiredly.

The bug user shrugged off the other boy's mood and went on with his query. "I would require your assistance on a particular subject."

"Lemme guess – you got your ass kicked and want to get stronger?" seeing Shino twitched, he snorted, before adding bluntly. "Join the club – I'm pretty sure we all got whooped two days ago. Genta's partner could have killed me so easily I was actually surprised." He also supposed Naruto had met someone strong when he went out with Team Sand; that would explain the sudden urgency to return.

Seeing the insect user had yet to add a word to the conversation, he sighed. "Sit down," Shino sat down. "Before we begin, you must realize that most training Naruto did he did by himself," Shikamaru started. The Chunin wanted to clear any misconceptions his teammate could have from the get go; dealing with the susceptible boy was not his idea of a relaxing afternoon; becoming some sort of personal trainer even less. "Second, I'm just trying to fix a huge injustice against him. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Shino thought about it before nodding. "Good: now tell me exactly what you can do, what can't, and what you want. I don't need the details or the secret stuff, he added quickly." Shino did so, and Shikamaru, having now a better idea of his friend's abilities, thought about his situation for a bit.

"Okay," he finally said, "I'm no expert on your clan or clan techniques, so take all my suggestions as just that, suggestions:

"Ever tried fighting like a normal shinobi? I think you should. Even better; assume at the start that your opponent knows who you are and has and anti-Arabume strategy. Learn some non-Arabume ninjutsu or some good taijutsu, or even some genjutsu: just learn what you can and learn how to use it. You never know… perhaps you'll be able to create your own style.

"Can you physically train your bugs? Make them bigger or smaller – preferably smaller? Can you make them attack something other than living beings? Could they learn out to spit acid in order to destroy walls more easily? Can you train them in poison resistance like we humans can?

"I saw your bug clone… does that mean that your bug can use the transformation technique? Maybe you should make them transform into more practical things like projectiles or a close range weapon.

"You usually focus on quantity – you could work on some way to make your bugs deadly on an individual basis."

Shikamaru scratched his head. "That's all I can think about at the moment," he said at last, "I hope at least one thing I said sounds new to you." Shino thanked his friend and went on his way.

The young Nara was still thinking about what he said to the bug user when Naruto dropped in, making him the final visitor, hopefully.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here." Shikamaru did not seem impressed, or interested, or anything for that matter so the blond asked, "…is something wrong?"

The Chunin sighed. "I was trying to watching the clouds – and failing miserably so far, so just tell me what I can do for you and with any luck, I'll be able to actually get a break."

Naruto grinned. "Actually I wanted to keep you company," he said. "We've been busy these last… actually we've been busy pretty much the whole mission, so I guess taking this last bit of time to rest would be a good idea. Goodness knows we won't get any rest when we come back."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto for a full ten seconds, before he started to shake uncontrollably, and as Naruto wondered what was wrong he burst out laughing. The sounds of his mirth lasted a good minute too. "What's so funny" asked a confused blond.

"Irony," Shikamaru replied before turning his head to the clouds.

Naruto took that as his cue to lie down and watch the sky. After two minutes he looked to Shikamaru. "This is kind of boring," he realized.

The Chunin barely glanced in his direction. "Sometimes that can be quite refreshing – now shut up or leave me to my sweet, sweet boredom."

Naruto smiled and remained quiet.

**_The mission is finally coming to an end, time for our heroes to go home._**

**_/-/ /-/ /-/ _**

**A/N: New chapter! Um, I'm pretty sure they'll be back in Konoha by next chapter. If that's the case this arc will be over within 3-4 chapters. Hopefully my awesome beta reviewer will be resuming its duties by the next chapter. Other than that, thanks for the steady flow of reviews guys! They are always welcome and appreciated *hint, hint*.**

**Here's your snippet.**

**Rev: I'M BAAAAAAACK! IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF SUPER-TEXT REVIEW!  
****Naru:** _*screams*_ no… not again… NOT AGAIN!  
**Shika: **well what do you know, the only reviewer who can make Naruto cower in fear.  
**SShun: **Jeez, get used to it Naruto! It's not that bad, it's pretty good actually.**  
Naru:** …That's what you think. I'm just… not going to read this review. Ha!  
**SShun & Shika: **…

**_I guess in the end I'm looking for Naruto to be his OWN combo jutsu user.  
... yeah, if you can't tell, I'm kinda jutsu crazy, like Naruto in canon.  
****Naru:** …Yeah! Bring on the Jutsu!  
**SShun: **I already did.  
**Naru:** …well, give me some more.  
**SShun: **…_*twitch*  
_**Shika: **Um Naruto, I think you should stop now.  
**SShun: **…you want a jutsu, huh? _*twitch*_ I gave you _four_. You don't like them? _*twitch*  
_**Naru:** _*sweat drop*_ Of course, of course.  
**SShun: **…I might come up with one, the million years of pain. I think I should test it on you though, just to be sure.  
**Naru:** _*shaking*_ no, no that's fine.  
**Shika: **…told you.

**_[…]since Naruto's already done a good job so far with learning how to use chakra to enhance what he has, I'd like to see him start doing weight training before chakra use becomes completely subconscious and he can't get any real benefit out of weight training**** anymore.  
****SShun: **Sorry but I don't intend for Naruto to become like Rock Lee.  
**Naru:** Why not?  
**Shika: **Let's put it this way. Lady Tsunade isn't anywhere near the physical fitness of Lee and she's still, strong as hell.  
**Naru:** …Oh.  
**SShun: **Don't worry Naruto, I have plans for you… big plans.  
**Naru:** What kind of plans?  
**SShun: **I'll only give one hint; it has to do with a fourth generation Kage.

**_Filler arcs/Movies[…]  
****SShun: **About that… yeah, you might want not to count on it.  
**Naru:** …Aw why not?  
**Shika: **Too troublesome.  
**Naru:** …No really, why not?  
**SShun: **What he said.  
**Naru:** *grinds teeth*  
**SShun: **I prefer to come up with it on my own as far as that's concerned. As for the movies …I might, _might _use one of them. But no promises!  
**Naru:** …Awesome! How about the second one?  
**Shika: **…or the first one, or the third one?  
**SShun: **Don't worry Shikamaru, which ever movie I _might_ pick, you'll still be in it.  
**Shika: **_*snaps fingers*_…Damn it.

**_[…]Plot related theories  
****Shika: **…hmm, interesting theory you have on the Kyuubi there.  
**SShun: **I agree… well not with the _theory_ per say, but I do find it interesting.  
**Naru:** …You mean you actually understood that?  
**SShun & Shika: **…_*sighs*  
_**SShun: **As for the Rinnegan I'm thinking you're halfway there.  
**Shika: **If you look at what the latest chapters say, they don't have the bloodline per say, but it's close enough.  
**Naru:** …So I could have the Rinnegan? Wicked!  
**Shika: **You'd need a bit of mad science and a lot of cruelty for that though.  
**Naru:** …You know what, never mind.

** _One final plot thing. Let's get Naruto together with Kankurou again.  
****Naru:** O.K. that's it! That reviewer's definitely mad.  
**SShun: **Dance of a thousand puppets hey…?  
**Naru:** _*horrified*_ You're actually thinking about it?  
**SShun: **Oh come on! I can't be that bad. I mean, Shikamaru puts up with Temari all the time.  
**Naru:** but, but…  
**SShun: **Tell you what I'll think about it.  
**Naru:** _*groans*  
_**Shika: **_*chuckles*_

** _I'm NOT liking the cliff hanger! There I had a dislike.  
****SShun: **…Ha! Finally a dislike! Wait...  
**Naru & Shika: **…

** _I want to see more Gaara/Shino teamwork! Were you patterning them after Mayuri Kurotsuchi from Bleach? The parallels were a little disturbing...  
****SShun: **Oh yeah, him! Not exactly, but the result is awfully similar  
**Naru:** …who's that?  
**SShun: **Mayuri?A sadist and I meant that as a euphemism.  
**Naru & Shika: **_*gulps*  
_**Naru:** You're not going to turn Shino into to... _that_ are you?  
**SShun: **depends… You still intend on having him on your team?  
**Shika: **hmm…

**_I'm really enjoying Naruto learning to actually think more in battle. I'd like to see him apply more of that pranking mindset to battle.  
****SShun: **I'll try to think about that.  
**Naru:** Could it be…? ...The return of the thousand years of pain?  
**Shika: **…You wouldn't unleash that calamity upon us, would you Shun?  
**SShun: **…Why not? Go crazy Naruto!  
**Naru:** _*cackles madly*__  
_**SShun: **_*dries fake tear*_He's got my evil laugh. Such a good pupil._  
_**Shika: **…Oh this _cannot_ be good.

** _I'm also enjoying what you've done with Shikamaru. Bring on the sarcasm, baby! He knows just what to do with it! Yeah! I'd like to see him do some more branching out. _  
_****SShun: **Yeah, he's got a knack for insulting people, I'll give him that._  
_**Naru:** …what about me?_  
_**Shika: **You lack… finesse._  
_**Naru:** I can be tactful._  
_**Shika & SShun: **_*****__stares at Naruto*__  
_**Naru:** …Fine, maybe I can't, happy? _*mutters*__  
_**Shika: **Anyways, just goes with my pes— …cautious attitude._  
_

** _As for the rest of—_  
_****SShun: **…I don't believe it… She actually ran out of space._  
_**Naru:** It's crazy, you know! crazy I tell you._  
_**Shika: **Well I dunno, it was a good read._  
_**SShun: **I kind of agree._  
_**Naru:** Are you guys insane?_  
_**Shika: **…you just don't like reading_  
_**SShun: ***nods*_  
_**Naru:** but… don't you see? They're words… and you actually enjoy reading that?_  
_**SShun: **… Naruto. Between this review and the last chapter, in which you kept gloating how awesome you were… which is longer?_  
_**Naru:** …_*jaw drops*__  
_**Shika: **… Exactly.


	34. Bumpy Ride

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**34. Peacemakers: ****Bumpy Ride**  


_**After a trying mission, our heroes are ready to return home.**_

The day of departure had finally arrived. Shikamaru was relieved to say the least. In fact he actually didn't know what he looked forward to leaving the most. Was it Kankuro's dates, or Temari's nagging, or Yugao breathing down their necks, or just Genta and his old tricks? Seriously, there was too much to rejoice about. Still, He did his best to hide this joy behind his trademarked boredom. Knowing the shinobi around him, they would go out of their way simply to mess with him, so better not give them a reason to.

As they reached the gates Yugao made an announcement. "I'll be staying here. I have to wait for that _negotiator's_ escort." From the way she had said that, the rest of the group got a feeling that the negotiator was in for a lot of pain in the near future. "Anyway, it's not like you need me, you came by yourselves after all."

The teens of Konoha looked at each other and nodded. It couldn't get better than this really – free reign to go home at their pace, which would definitely be leisurely. Naruto and Shino would probably want to train; as for him… well, it was to perfect time to do absolutely nothing – his favorite kind of pastime. He glanced towards the Sand's shinobi and suddenly smirked. _Time for some payback_, he mused.

"Hey Baki," hollered Shikamaru all of a sudden. The squad captain and the rest of his team faced the Chunin. "Remember that 'favor' you're supposed to owe me? Might as well get it now, since we're leaving and all that," he mused out loud. The man apparently saw no problem with that because he simply shrugged. Shikamaru's face betrayed nothing as he said, "Well, what I'd really want is to beat you to an inch of your life, but since we can't have that, I'll have to settle for a punch in the face."

Baki blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

The young Nara's bored stare did not waver. "I think you heard me perfectly the first time." He started to scratch his head. "So let's get this done so we can leave already."

The Sand Jonin smirked. "You got balls brat, I'll give you that. Unfortunately, I never said anything about giving any of you any favors," he answered smugly.

Shikamaru didn't react right away. He knew he'd get shot down; he also knew he had all the pieces to get what he wanted in the end anyway. For this next part, all he had to do was… "I see," he shrugged, before putting his hands behind his head walking away. "I'm sure my council will be interested to know how Suna respects its deals," he mused aloud. "I'm certain they'll consider that before any further negotiations."

The young boy had to stop before colliding into Baki, who had moved swiftly to block his path. "You'd better watch your mouth, Nara. I don't think you're stupid enough to jeopardize your own mission."

If he thought that threat was enough to stop a Nara he had another thing coming. A smug smirk sprouted from Shikamaru's lips – he knew he had taken control of the situation. "I'm doing no such thing," he said neutrally. "I'm simply informing them that the other party wasn't too set on an alliance." And they both knew the consequences of that: oh there would still be an alliance, but the Sand would be at a disadvantage, since it would have to show its 'good will' one way or another. "I mean, it's not like you guys were pretty friendly with that fight. Oh! I know!" said Shikamaru in mock realization, "I should mention that too."

Baki grit growled. "Nara…! You son of a—"

"Now that's funny," he answered scathingly, "that's exactly what they say about payback."

Startled by the tone of that last remark, Baki looked at Shikamaru again. The aloof expression he usually wore had been replaced by a cold stare. And he wasn't the only one; the mood of the other two Leaf shinobi changed when at the mention of retribution. It seemed only the Sand was left in the dark.

"What the hell is that all about?" asked Kankuro.

Shino answered, "You should ask Baki, because it seems he knows what Shikamaru means." The insect user was right judging by the way the Sand Jonin's expression had changed to be a bit more grim.

Seeing everyone had shut up, the Leaf Chunin went on. "Look, I know that the past is past, but what did you seriously think would happen if you kept provoking us? In case you forgot, people died in Konoha – _because of you_." Baki sneered, but let that remark slide; he might have been misled by Orochimaru, but they had still done all those things. "We are allies now, yes, but it doesn't erase the fact stuff happened… bad stuff."

Naruto sided with his friend. "He's right, you know? You've been a bastard during the whole mission, and we went out of our way to make sure our squad captain kept her cool. You just had it coming."

Shino decided to finish with a little flair. "Let me tell you about a saying in Konoha; if you burn a leaf, get ready to burn the forest."

"Fine," Baki finally relented, "You get your shot Nara, but don't think it'll end with that."

Said Nara raised a single eyebrow, apparently surprised by the declaration. "…Interesting. Unfortunately there seems to be a misunderstanding; I'm not the one who's going to hurt you, Baki."

The man was growing more frustrated by the second. Good, the Chunin enjoyed seeing him get a taste of his own medicine. He shared a glance with Naruto who lit up like a star. The Sand Jonin did not miss it; he also didn't miss the very visible chakra gathering around the arm of the Konoha Jinchuriki. The man felt a cold sweat down his neck. When Naruto started moving Baki shook his head.

"You're not actually expecting me to simply take _that_, are you?" That much was a given. If everyone could actually _see_ the chakra plain as day, it would be foolhardy, even for a Jonin, to try and simply withstand the hit. Then again, Shikamaru's eyes showed he had been dead serious when he said he wanted the Sand squad leader beaten 'to an inch of his life'. And so the only sensible thing Baki could do was… "Fine, What do you _really_ want, Nara!"

The young Nara smirked evilly. "An apology; by kneeling."

If looks could kill… then again if they really _could_ kill, Shikamaru wondered how many times over would have Yugao killed the man. "This isn't over, Nara," muttered Baki before disappearing. He shrugged; at least it wasn't someone else after Naruto again.

The young genius turned to see Naruto approach his fellow Jinchuriki. "Hey, Gaara? We're still cool right?" he asked apprehensively.

The sand user blinked. "I do not condone what you have done. But it was legitimate and we will refrain from stopping negotiations for that incident." Of course that wasn't the answer Naruto wanted to here so he added "We are still… friends." That got a smile out of the Kyuubi host.

"Well now that everything's settled, let's get out of here," announced the Leaf Chunin. After making sure they were ready to go, he faced the Sand Siblings one last time. "You might want to start moving out as well, he told them."

Temari corked an eyebrow. "Why? He's just going to apologize…"

The rest of her explanation died as Shino snorted, Shikamaru chuckled and Naruto burst into laughter.

"Right," he finally said, "We'll be going, then." The leaf rookies went their way, eager to get started on their training – or simply leave in one Nara's case.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

A week had gone since team Leaf left the Wheat village and already the group was within the Fire Country's lush forests. Personally, Naruto wanted to stretch the return trip almost as much as Shikamaru, but he had no progress at all concerning his new wind jutsu, and needed the input of another Wind user in order to progress. Likewise, Shino had figured something he wanted to do with his insects, but hadn't got the resources to test his new theory currently. Hence, they hastened the pace, to the Chunin's annoyance.

Naruto felt somewhat relieved to be surrounded by the familiar green, yet apprehensive because once home he would have to confront his team – again. He really wondered what he'd tell them, but in the end would it matter? From the way things were going, they would either start to hate him – which wouldn't be so different he noticed bitterly – or they would listen. But then what? He really didn't see Sakura or Sasuke change their behavior because of him. It didn't matter either way – he'd be able to stop pretending and that could only end up being a good thing.

He was still thinking of the aftermath of his honesty as he gazed towards Shikamaru. The Chunin seemed to be as preoccupied as he was. "You don't look alright," he said to him.

Shikamaru shrugged, "I'm not; things are too quiet."

Naruto blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Chunin looked in his direction and smiled. "It means that you, Naruto, have a gift: you're the embodiment of bad luck."

"Hey!"

Naruto was about to refute the statement more vehemently but Shino quickly approached them. Both he and Shikamaru had spent enough time around the insect user to see he was worried. "Something's wrong," he announced, "my insects aren't coming back; they should have by now."

As upsetting as this new development was turning out to be, Shikamaru still spared an expressive glance into Naruto's direction, which peeved him to no end. "Screw you! I have nothing to do with this."

The genius of the group snorted but returned to being serious. "In any case, this is bad. Whoever's coming after us knows about the Arabume clan and is skilled enough to spot and destroy the bugs before they can come to us, meaning two things; they're dangerous, and we have no idea how close they are from us." The other nodded, signaling they had perfectly understood the situation. Shikamaru sighed. "Let's hurry up – I'll think of something while we're moving."

After a good ten minutes of travel ay their maximum speed, Shikamaru had come up with a reasonable idea. "Okay here's the plan; Naruto will make clones so that they all look like our full team. and we'll make three groups and split up.

"One group will be made entirely of clones and will head straight for Konoha, one group will have both you and Shino heading towards the eastern outpost – shouldn't farther away than Konoha from our current location – with a copy of me, and I'll be heading towards the Nara forest – which is closer – with copies of you guys."

"What, No!" Naruto protested. "How come you're heading out alone?"

"I can't give you all the details but I'll give you two reasons," quickly sated his temporary leader, "One, I'm the number one ninja at running away; to catch me they'll have to see me, which they won't trust me. Two and the most important, I'm not their target."

He recoiled, fully understanding the meaning behind those words. "You don't know that!" he tried half-heartedly.

"Yes I do. Three guesses to who their target is."

_Shit!_ "You don't have to do this Shikamaru. My clones can—"

"No," the young Nara swiftly cut him off "The more groups there are, the higher the chance they'll focus on groups with me and Shino, which is exactly what we don't want. The way I split us up, they'll be either heading for the copies first, or in my direction if we're unlucky – and I still win if I can draw them into the forest, which is pretty close. If they catch up to anyone of us we must assume they're skilled enough to kill us." Naruto was about to voice another idea but his friend didn't give the chance. "Get moving – that's an order!"

Naruto begrudgingly made the clones and left with Shino, but not before giving Shikamaru a look that meant trouble after this was over.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru was currently traveling as fast as he could, flanked by two clones who kept glaring at him.

_If I live through this I might end up getting killed by Naruto; what a troublesome day._

Fortunately, they had reached the Nara forest without incident. The Chunin wasted no time entering the forest and headed towards the village from there. About five minutes in, he halted his troupe.

"Alright, here's the next part of the plan. One of you, make a clone and have him transform into me. Once that's done head out."

The Naruto looking clone gave him a narrow look. "How are we supposed to get out of the forest if you're not there with us?"

Shikamaru smiled. "You're not; you'll get lost… and so will whoever's trying to tail us. When you're sure you are, you're free to dispel." This answer seemed to please the clones greatly, and so they immediately did as they were told.

The shadow user watched the decoy group leave with a resigned face. Once they were out of sight, he activated his new stealth trick and back tracked carefully towards the way he had entered his ancestral forest. As he neared the place he heard faint sounds of movement and so he carefully slowed his pace. Whoever was coming clearly headed towards his direction.

Shikamaru stopped when he heard a voice, they we're pretty close from the sound of it. He could already hear the pursuers' conversation from where he was, but getting a good look at them wouldn't hurt for future reference, so he moved closer, focusing on the conversation as he sneaked by.

"…the trail ends here, Kisame," said a soft, if not a little cold sounding deep voice.

A lighter, more outspoken voice answered, "My ass it does. I don't need your eyes to see the trail continues in that direction, Uchiha."

Any plan to get even a glimpse of them disappeared when he heard that last name. Instead, Shikamaru found himself unable to breathe, let alone move. It couldn't be, could it? What were the chances of that person being near Konoha in the first place? Unfortunately it _would_ make sense if it really was _that Uchiha_ – the last one besides Sasuke; he would know about the insects of the Arabume clan, having worked with them in the past. What he heard next only confirmed his suspicions.

"This is the Nara forest; you will be unable to find your way or into the village back should you go in there," warned the Uchiha."

The one called Kisame snorted, "So they tricked us? After we split up and went after the only two potentially real targets?" another snort, "Are you sure that third group heading east couldn't be the real one?" a pause. "…Great! I knew we should have gone after the other target we found at the village! It's not every day we can literally walk into one out of his home turf too."

"He wasn't our target; our leader already made clear we were to go only after our own."

Shikamaru did not want to linger there any longer. He had already gathered more than enough info, and more importantly, made sure his friends were safe; no need to get killed over it. He simply moved through the Nara forest and exited in the opposite direction. Feeling he didn't need to hide anymore, Shikamaru turned off his coat of shadow chakra and sped up, still not believing he was out of trouble as long as he had not met with his teammates. His thoughts were justified when he heard a sound in mid-jump coming from the right. He immediately took a defensive position before he remotely saw anything.

That saved his life.

He did not clearly see who tried to gut him, but that didn't really matter; the only thing he knew was that the wound he currently had could have been much, much worse. Shikamaru picked himself from the tree he had crashed into and with one hand clutching his wound faced his attacker.

"Itachi Uchiha," he assessed.

The raven haired man not far from his position looked back with expressionless red eyes "A young Nara," he confirmed, "interesting."

Thinking quickly, the Chunin threw some loaded kunai – some with tags, some with grenades – at his opponent. The Uchiha swiftly dodged the assault and moved away from the tree, avoiding the explosions entirely. Shikamaru dropped to the floor level, relentless in his kunai attack, and moved to the clearing at his back. He made sure to have a tree at his back when Itachi walked into sight.

"How did you find me?" he asked first.

"I followed the tracks of the decoys into the forest. When they disappeared, I noticed a fourth trail heading in the opposite direction."

_A clone then_. This was the only explanation possible – or else there was another Uchiha out there with the exact same voice. And what an unfair Bloodline Limit the Sharingan turned out to be; the troublesome bastard shouldn't have been able to even spot the tracks left by the clones, let alone the ones left in while hid shadow chakra was around his feet. At any rate he might have a chance out of this mess yet. All he had to do was wound the clone of one of the most dangerous shinobi around: e_asy as pie_, he mentally quipped.

"I don't want to kill you if I can help it Nara," The shinobi calmly told him, "Simply tell me the direction your group took and I'll be on my way."

The Chunin snorted once, thinking the man had an odd way of not killing his opponents. He felt his wound again, and after an internal assessment, figured that the spot Itachi had aimed for was not fatal. It was, however, intended to cut through many arteries and to cause pain – the kind of pain that easily lead into shock. Luckily the wound wasn't deep, so he was only bleeding to death.

Scary guy.

He then snorted again thinking about the criminal's demand. A shinobi willing to sell out his teammates had no merit being a shinobi in the first place. "You don't actually believe I'll answer you, do you?"

"Not willingly, no."

Very, _very_ scary guy.

Neither said anything else. A moment later and Shikamaru could hear a faint sound coming from his left this time. But Itachi hadn't moved, unless… The Chunin really didn't want to use that move so soon after recovering from all that muscle ache but it was that or getting cut into ribbons, A Mind Flicker and Body Flicker later, he was far enough from his original spot. Looking at where he was a moment ago he saw a mark against the tree.

The shadow user immediately formed the dispelling seal and the Itachi in the clearing disappeared from his view. He swore "A genjutsu. I never saw his hands move," he mumbled to himself. "So I guess Sharingan users can cast illusions with their eyes alone? Talk about troublesome." The real clone however, had yet to be seen.

"Was that the Body flicker?" asked the man, who unfortunately couldn't be pinpointed by his disembodied voice. "The efficiency at which you make use of it… you remind me of an old friend."

"…Was he any good?" he asked curiously "What happened to him?"

The only answer he got was the soft familiar rustle telling him to get the hell out of the way and this continued for two more attacks. Shikamaru was now panting heavily. He hadn't used the combined Flicker techniques for more than a split second each time, but he was already sore and tired from the wound that still bled profusely. And so far there wasn't even a glimpse of the troublesome bastard. Forget hurting him – how was he supposed to even escape when he had no idea of his opponents whereabouts? Not mention the guy struck like lightning.

_Shit! Anymore high speed moves than that and I won't even be able to run away._

He heard a sound coming from his right and dreaded yet another repeat of the same maneuver, but before he felt forced to move he heard something else move and suddenly two people were facing each other in front of him.

"Yugao," breathed Shikamaru. If someone told him he'd ever be relieved from seeing the kunoichi…

"Itachi," sneered the purple haired woman, quickly drawing her weapon.

"Yugao, is it?" mused Itachi. "I see you joined the ANBU."

The next things to be traded were blows. Shikamaru could barely make out the sparks flying from each of their exchanges. But he didn't have time to wonder on that insane speed. He had a few seconds to move to the right spot, start his Shadow Bind Jutsu and…

A bright light came from behind the spot he had just moved to, and suddenly the whole clearing was shrouded in shadows. Shikamaru could finally see the two fighters in the middle of the clearing, both caught in his trap.

"Shadow Bind," noted Itachi. "There was no light grenade. How…?" not a moment later, the rogue ninja answered his own question. "The grenade loaded kunai."

"I don't identify all of my light grenades," confirmed the shadow user, before turning towards his squad leader. "You can move now."

But before they could do anything, Itachi closed his eyes. "We will meet again, Nara." And just like that he turned into water.

"A water clone?" said both remaining shinobi. Unsurprisingly, the next comment was also voiced simultaneously.

"Shit!"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The real Itachi stopped on a tree branch and looked towards the Nara forest.

"Something wrong?" asked his partner.

"No." But the Uchiha rogue did not move, instead he turned around. "We'll be going back to Konoha soon. The Nine Tails Demon Container was heading there."

"After that screwed up pursuit?" quipped Kisame.

Itachi merely twitched. "Whether they know of us coming will not matter in the end," he replied.

Kisame smiled. "Well what do you know, I might actually get to have a little bit of action; let's come back later then."

A moment later the of them were gone.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Yugao and Shikamaru we're traveling towards the outpost, albeit slowly, since the ANBU had to support him. Neither said a word, no doubt trying to get over the annoyance of being in close proximity. The Chunin went over the whole ordeal a few times and still couldn't get over how lucky he had been overall.

His mind snapped to the present when Yugao faced his direction. "Mind telling me why you decided to take on an S-rank criminal of all people Nara?" she asked. He looked at her like she was insane. _Who the hell __**willingly**__ takes on an S-ranked missing nin?_ Still he answered the kunoichi by giving her a report of the whole incident. When she heard Itachi had Kisame for partner and more importantly, a boss, she let out a whistle. "I guess things could have been worse," she concluded.

He thought about it and shrugged. He had a question he wanted to ask himself though. "What are you doing here?"

The kunoichi snorted. "You're welcome, you ungrateful brat." Said brat shrugged, waiting for his answer. "I was looking for you guys; stuck in the Wheat village for two days and I _still_ ended up in Konoha before you lot. Hell, the team from Suna arrived before you; no wonder you ran into trouble."

_And that explains what that Kisame said about a target being out of his home_, reasoned the Chunin.

Yugao stopped for a moment. "And speaking of Suna," she whacked behind the head. "Who died and made responsible for my business, Nara?"

Shikamaru rubbed his head. "Hey! Injured Chunin here! And what are you talking about?"

"Don't play games with me Nara, or you'll get broken bones with that bleeding; I know you're behind Baki's little turnaround."

"Ah," simply said Shikamaru, who knew better than to tell her he knew about her boyfriend, or that his mom always nagged him about taking the defense of women – as powerful as they could be. He was sure if either of these facts were known he'd be a dead man.

The porcelain mask stared at him. "We'll be talking about this later Nara," she said, and the boy just knew he was in trouble. "For now we'll just focus on not running into the real Itachi."

"Why? You seemed to handle his clone pretty well," thought the Chunin.

Yugao snorted. "That was a water clone, kid. The real deal will be ten times faster, stronger and flat out more vicious than the clone you saw."

"T-ten times?" The guy was keeping up with Yugao and was far faster than he was – with Body Flicker, no less – and invisible even through the Mind Flicker with a _tenth_ of his speed? Well, Shikamaru knew Itachi Uchiha must have been a heck of a shinobi to be able to wipe out a clan that rivaled the Hyuuga in one night, but now that he had met him… he had trouble figuring out why a guy needed a partner – probably no less than S-class himself. And those guys had a _Boss_? And to go after Naruto of all things?

And that after all his friend had been through, he reminded himself. He had asked Kankuro about Gaara's trials during his their free time. The puppet user had recounted reluctantly his brother's daily life back then, mostly guilty because of the part he played in it. Shikamaru knew not everything that happened to Gaara happened to Naruto, but he had the gist of it. Naruto grew _alone,_ not even as most orphans of Konoha grew up. He had the third, that much was true, but he knew the departed Hokage could only do so much for his friend. And from what Naruto had told him, Iruka had only started befriending him around ten. He truly wondered how Naruto hadn't ended like his fellow Jinchuriki – he certainly had every right to.

The genius couldn't help but laugh at how absurd the situation was. Here he was thinking he could help Naruto against Genta, that they could eventually be able to handle whatever he threw at him only to realize that he was the least of their worries, because on one side you had all of the Konoha higher-ups all working from the shadows with their own plans for the Jinchuriki, and on the other you had S-class missing nin partnering up to catch him. All that for a single Genin? That was overkill – Kyuubi or not.

Yugao thought there was nothing funny about the whole thing, but as she was about to tell him so, she saw his tears as he laughed himself silly. "Hey, you did well out there," she assured him awkwardly, thinking he was going into some sort of shock.

He shook his head. "Good…? 'Good' will only get you killed," he admitted bitterly.

For once the genius had absolutely no idea how to help his friend and it left him helpless. Naruto's fate weighed heavily on his mind. He wondered if there was something people like Kakashi or Iruka could do, and then thought of Jiraiya. As they reached the outpost he realized that Naruto's mentors certainly could intervene in his favor, but even that outcome left him bitter; for once the Chunin wouldn't be satisfied if he let others take matters off his hands, not after all the time and effort he had spent on it. Still there was nothing he could do… not as he was. His eyes became focused, and his resolution strengthened. So they wanted to go after Naruto, huh? Fine; let them. He would show them. Naruto would become the Hokage even if killed him. In the mean time he'd make sure to give them hell – every single one of them. No one messed with his friends.

No one.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

There was nothing to do at the outpost; it was only a small bunker, with only two Chunin there in time of peace. This meant that Naruto could worry about his friend at leisure. When Yugao arrived with Shikamaru an hour later, Naruto let out a sigh of relief; fortunately Shikamaru only had a minor wound. But he also felt incredibly angry at his friend. That the two of them didn't even want to identify their pursuers only added to his irritation. The blond Genin was getting sick of his friend getting hurt for his sake. First Kohaku, then those armored shinobi sent by that mysterious guy Shikamaru had yet to name, and then this. However, in truth he was mostly angry at himself.

All those times he hadn't been strong enough to help his friend. It seemed no matter how much Naruto progressed, his enemies were always leaps and bounds ahead of him and making a mockery of his hard work. And – again – it wouldn't hurt him so much if he was the one who paid for it. He was seriously wondering if it wasn't better for his friend that Team Oblivion disbanded. Frankly the idea scared him, but it was better than one day watching one of his few important people die, right?

These were the thoughts that plagued him during the rest of the day until the night Shikamaru needed to recover from his blood loss.

Seeing that he couldn't sleep at all, Naruto left the outpost for a midnight stroll He hadn't gotten very far when he spotted someone above him. _Shikamaru_, he quickly noticed; he hadn't even seen him leave.

"Took you long enough," chided the Chunin, "you kept looking at me like you had something to say, but you never opened your mouth, so I waited for you out there," he explained, before yawning loudly.

Naruto snorted; at least one of them had no trouble sleeping.

The Jinchuriki joined his friend on the tree branches and for a while neither of them said anything, then after they both made sure they weren't being spied on the Genin glared at his partner. "You could have died," he started, "In case you haven't noticed _I'm_ the one with the damn healing powers, so stop being stupid Shikamaru."

"They weren't after me, Naruto," retorted the Chunin, visibly annoyed by the accusation, "they were after you. The reason I'm alive, is because I wasn't worth the extra effort since I was not their target; they had already lost you by that time. What do you think would've happened it was you back there? Someone had to do it and I was the best one to do it. End of story."

"So? If they're after me it's my business; I should take care of it," he said flippantly.

"But you couldn't have, that's why I did it," Shikamaru argued back. He then went into detail about both Danzo and Itachi. The blond boy was more shocked to hear the same brother Sasuke wanted dead was now after him, than anything. For him, Danzo wasn't that different than Genta. So much people after the Kyuubi…

As for Shikamaru he sighed. "You got so many people after you it baffles me why you'd be angry some are actually trying to _protect_ you."

"Yeah, the Nine Tails is important," he said bitterly, fully aware of the reason behind all that attention, "I kind of figured."

His friend gave him a cold stare before saying, "You're an idiot." He glared, but Shikamaru paid no mind. "I'm not doing this for the Kyuubi. In case your ears aren't working properly I said _you_, not the damn fox. In fact screw that thing!" he said, actually angry for once, "It's making things more troublesome than they already are."

Naruto felt a bit shameful, even if he was supposed to be the one being angry at Shikamaru. Maybe he had pushed a bit too far when he mentioned his tenant; he knew Shikamaru wasn't like that. That didn't explain why the Chunin was so mad though; in fact the young genius had looked angry since the moment he came set foot in the outpost.

Seeing his confusion, Shikamaru gave him condescending look and sighed. "If you haven't figured it about now you'll never get it," Naruto glared, "so I'll just go out and say it very slowly for you: I think you could be a great Hokage," Naruto was about to argue back, but stopped when he heard this, curious about where his friend was going.

"In fact," continued Shikamaru, "I _want_ you to become Hokage – would spare us a lot of trouble." This shocked Naruto. He knew people that thought he _could_ become Hokage – with a miracle – but no one had told him they _wanted_ him to become Hokage before. He felt… odd for some reason. The fact that someone wanted him to be their leader… He wondered for the first time if he ever be up to it. He knew he'd have the power eventually, but could he really become that dependable? A man who could protect and take care of a whole village? He felt humble before the full weight of what that position meant.

However his friend wasn't done. "But as things are standing now, you'll never become a Hokage." _Wasn't that the truth?_ thought the Jinchuriki bitterly. At this rate, he might never even get to Jonin. His screwed up childhood, the people after him, the—

"That's why I'm going to _help_ you get there."

Naruto's brain froze. He stared incredulously at his partner, who knew the opposition he was facing, and still wanted to help him. Did he really realize what this meant? He was going out of way to help him. _No_, Naruto finally noticed, _he's been going out of his way since Genta was after me_. He didn't have to go this far, even for a friend… or at least, no friend of his had ever gone that for before. This went even beyond what Sasuke had done for him; this was dedication even Kakashi hadn't towards him – and the man was supposed to be his mentor. This reminded him of Iruka and the old man; the only people he considered family. You didn't ask family for help he had learned, they just helped you; what you wanted didn't matter.

Naruto couldn't help but feel selfishly happy about Shikamaru risking his life like that. For once, he didn't have to put his own life on the line to be acknowledged by someone. "You won't let me refuse the help, will you?" he finally let out.

Shikamaru smiled. "I don't care either way," he admitted, "I've already started haven't I? Might as well see it to the end – however troublesome and tiresome that sounds."

"I… I don't what to say." He really didn't. His only wish right now was to have known what a great friend Shikamaru could turn out to be earlier.

"Um …that's great Naruto," he said after yawning "I'm going to sleep now; let me know when you do."

Naruto chuckled. "You really know how to ruin dramatic moments, you know."

Shikamaru hid a smile as he shrugged. "Dramatic moments are overrated."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto took a deep breath as he walked through the famous gates. "We're finally back," he shouted, he then looked at Shikamaru who was prodding his most recent injury and noticed something peculiar. "That's odd: how come you always end with injuries when we get home?"

The Chunin snorted. "This only happens when I'm stuck with _you_ on missions. That's why I don't want them."

The blond waved him off. "Don't be stupid Shikamaru. Our missions are always exciting and dangerous and full off ass kicking!"

"…What is it that you always call me?" asked his friend.

"A lazy bastard…?"

"Exactly." and the Chunin said no more.

"…lazy bastard," muttered Naruto under his breath.

The Genin was glad to be home, and pleasantly surprised their debriefing didn't take long, at least for Shino and him. Yugao and Shikamaru had to report about the assailants so they would be held up a while longer. That was for him the only sour point in the day so far; he wanted to eat his celebration ramen now… oh well, too bad for Shikamaru – he'd eat it with Shino instead.

Only Shino had other plans himself. The shades wearing Genin was in a hurry to try transforming his bugs into something useful. He also wanted to catch up with the rest of his team, so he congratulated his companion on his new jutsu, excused himself and left Naruto in front of the Hokage Tower. This annoyed the Kyuubi host, but he couldn't fault his comrade, so he started walking, wondering if he should just wait in the vicinity for his friend or get bowl to get his stomach rolling.

He was so focused on his dilemma that he did not see the hand that shot out of nowhere to drag him into a nearby alley. Naruto coughed a bit and looked up to see…

"Temari?" he managed to let out without fear.

"Uzumaki," she greeted back, "we need to talk."

Naruto nodded, finally showing signs of apprehension. The kunoichi saw this and shook her head. "Shikamaru told you nothing, didn't he?" she muttered. Naruto shook his head, his earlier fear replaced by confusion. As for Temari, she sighed complaining about Shikamaru being too much of a lazy ass for his own good. Naruto couldn't help agreeing, but that didn't tell him the reason for Temari actively seeking him out.

"So what was Shikamaru supposed to tell me?" he asked.

"That I'll be helping you with your 'Wind Chronicles' – or was _supposed to_ anyway," she replied a bit sourly.

The boy's eyes brightened, before squinting in doubt. "You really think you can help? I mean, wouldn't it be better to have Baki help me or something?"

Temari narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Are you looking down on my talents as a wind user, Uzumaki?" Naruto shook his head fervently. She snorted. "Anyway, Baki wouldn't want to be near any of you after the stunt Nara pulled last time. That being said, it never happened since you kept avoiding me," she chided.

Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly and apologized. Still he felt reassured that someone like Asuma would oversee his training now that he was back in Konoha. But that left him wondering; why was Temari after him _now_?

"But that's not really why I'm here," Temari said, seemingly reading his mind, "I just want you to let you know that I want have fight with you once you mastered your new jutsu."

Naruto had experienced what it was like to spar against someone who had no qualms killing you; he did not look forward to actually fighting another one. Unfortunately, if Temari was anything like Sasuke, she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Well, at least he wouldn't be coerced into the fight like Shikamaru was.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," he started.

She stared at him for a moment, before smiling. "I was hoping you'd say that," she told him.

He blinked. "Uh…" then he heard the sound of knuckles cracking and his head shot up. "Temari why are you looking at me like that?" The kunoichi was getting closer and Naruto recoiled by instinct. "Temari? Wait! I'm pretty sure we can talk through this…"

Unfortunately, she didn't let him.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

After being thoroughly thrashed by Temari – who promised she would visit often – Naruto limped towards Ichiraku's. He really hadn't needed that last beating; the whole mission had been tiring enough. Gaara had been cool, Kankuro had been annoying and Shikamaru had outdone himself at pushing his buttons. Then absolutely _everyone_ had tried to take him out, one way or another. Fortunately Shikamaru was there; unfortunately that almost got the Chunin killed a couple of times. Then Shikamaru said those things Naruto never thought he'd get to hear before at least being a Jonin… Missions with his team weren't that emotionally draining even if he had to play pretend.

He stumbled on the street leading to his favorite ramen stand at the same time Shikamaru and Choji got out of the intersecting road, each from opposite direction. The three of them looked at the other two; interestingly enough, they all looked like they had taken a rough beating. Naruto was curious about his friends but for once Shikamaru was faster.

"What happened to you?" he asked him first.

He shrugged. "Temari wants to fight me."

The Chunin hid his snicker behind a cough, as Choji gave him a second glance, before trying to correct him. "Um pretty sure you meant to say Temari _fought_ you, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head, smiling cynically despite his bruises. "No, this happened because I _didn't_ want to fight her."

Choji looked at Shikamaru and he nodded, confirming that yes, Temari was the kind of girl that actually did this kind of thing, as absurd as it sounded. Choji gave Naruto a comforting pat on the shoulder that almost toppled him over. Heck, Choji nearly fell down himself for his act of sympathy – they really were in rough shape.

Naruto and Choji then looked at the genius who shuddered. "Yugao doesn't like favors," he simply said, and Naruto winced. Shikamaru wasn't done however. "Also she doesn't like having things hidden from her," he gave a knowing look at Naruto; "she knew everything all along."

The Genin blanched. "Everything?"

"_Everything._"

Naruto gulped. _Note to self: avoid Yugao in the future._

Fortunately, the ANBU agent told Shikamaru that she'd keep their undercover activities a secret; it seemed she had her own bone to pick with Genta. She also seemed unaware of Danzo being behind the armored shinobi incident. From the little time they spent with the kunoichi though, both Naruto and his companion had a feeling this would end up biting them in the rear one of these days.

Anyway, that left the plump shinobi to reveal the reason behind his bruises. Choji coughed and blushed. "I… may have said to Ino that she could gain a few pounds," he let out.

The two other boys winced; That definitely would get you a beating no matter which woman you told that to. The three boys shared a look and started smiling.

"And with this you lose all right to say that women aren't troublesome," concluded Shikamaru. The two others nodded gravely, and the three of them laughed.

"So, Naruto," Choji wondered, "Ichiraku's?"

"Hell yeah!" shouted Naruto, "Ayame doesn't hit me _and_ she gives me ramen; Shikamaru can say whatever he wants, but she's the perfect girl, you know."

The other two boys shook their heads, but said nothing; that was where they were heading anyway. The three of them walked side by side, mutually supporting each other and talking about trivial things. Naruto felt the walk to the ramen stand took a bit longer than usual, but didn't mind because of the company. He was about to ask Shikamaru about something when the genius stopped. He looked quite aggravated too, and muttered something under his breath. The Chunin made a handsign, looked even more annoyed, muttered and "troublesome". He then made the same handsign, only to put his hands on Naruto and Choji's foreheads, dispelling the genjutsu they were under.

What suddenly appeared in front of him made him want to cry; a cross armed Sakura Haruno, and boy did she look angry.

_**Sakura Haruno is the last Boss? What will happen to poor Naruto?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: Sup guys. I'm here with the new year's first chapter**_**. **_**Hope you enjoyed it. I think the next two chapters will be the last ones for this arc, though I might be wrong. You can guess what the next arc will be about.**

**P.S. Two hundred thousand words! Hadn't even noticed! Sure came a long way, huh?**

**Here's your snippet.**

**Rev: just read the little blabber at the end. (Yes the chap as well, but hey I can choose to what to comment)  
SShun & Naru & Shika: **…

**_Well the most troublesome woman for shikamaru is Anko.  
Shika: **…What?  
**SShun & Naru: **_*Rolls on the floor laughing*  
_**Naru:** …She's hands down the worst woman for Shikamaru!  
**Shika: **…  
**SShun: **…And that's only if he's the one going after her. If it's the other way around… poor guy might end up being jumped.  
**Shika: **And that's funny?  
**SShun & Naru: **Totally!  
**Shika: **Screw you guys.

**_And no talking to myself...or the wall. My doctor said.  
SShun & Naru & Shika: **…  
**Naru:** …Uh, I think  
**SShun: **_*shakes head*  
_**Naru:** O…K…

**Rev: I approve of your sadism, your touch is a very artistic one. I'm still absolutely digging your character interactions, although I did see a little bit of pronoun trouble here and there.**  
**Naru & Shika: **Hey!  
**SShun: **Sorry about that. And don't worry about the sadism, got a lot more from where that came from  
**Naru & Shika: **…  
**SShun: **In fact, you've seen nothing yet… and I'll just leave it at that.  
**Shika: **…Admit it, you hate me don't you?  
**SShun: **Not at all, I just like annoying you.  
**Shika: **… _*twitch*_

**_on that note *turns and glares at Naruto* SHE, eh jumpsuit boy?  
Naru:** … uh ho. _*gulps*_

**_just for that, I think I'll go on ahead and buy Ichiraku out, convert it into a health food store that sells LOTS of tomatoes for a certain Uchiha, and give out free pamphlets claiming that ramen is the most evil of foods and should not be consumed...maybe even try and get Genta to outlaw it...  
Naru:** … _*faints*  
_**Shika: **…harsh.  
**SShun: **…And that's why you should never refer to a reviewer's gender.  
**Naru:** _*twitch*_ fine just try it. I'll bust an Eight Tails Kyuubi on your house and destroy your town.  
**Shika: **…uh I think he snapped.  
**SShun: **…Naruto what did I tell you about threatening reviewers?  
**Naru:** _*snarls*  
_**SShun: **_*sighs*_Naruto? Between the reviewer who can buy Ichiraku's, and me who can simply make ramen vanish altogether from your dimension, who should you fear?  
**Naru:** _*hugs knees*_ I'll be good. I'll be good.  
**SShun: **Good boy.  
**Shika: **…


	35. Dialogue

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**35. Peacemakers: Dialogue**

_**After all the trials, Naruto's last hurdle is… Sakura?**_

Naruto wearily faced his fuming pink haired teammate. The kind of look she was giving him made him want to crawl under the covers of his bed. It was the kind that promised him an extra painful beating. Maybe if he asked to be gentle…? Still he wondered what he had done that—

"You _lied_ to me, Naruto," growled Sakura.

Oh yeah, that. Well that certainly deserved a beating didn't it? Looking nervous, the blond was actually annoyed. Thing was… he didn't feel like playing the same antics with her at all right now. He still had to talk to her and the rest of Team Seven – as per his agreement with Shikamaru – and he was definitely not ready to do that yet. The last mission had become an emotional whirlpool in the end; he really couldn't handle further drama. _To__ heck with that_, Naruto decided, _let's just be honest_.

"Sorry Sakura, I'm kind of already beat up," he told her, "so can I take a rain check on that pounding?"

Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but stopped to give him a second look. For a split second she looked guilt-stricken, but he must have been imagining things; why would she look guilty if she was going to pound him into next week in the first place?

"It's alright," the pink haired kunoichi told him, "I wasn't going to hurt you Naruto." Naruto along with his companions looked at her with various degrees of disbelief. "Anyways, you guys are going to Ichiraku's right? You can explain everything while we eat – you're paying for me of course," she added sweetly.

Naruto made a superhuman effort not to flinch at her suggestion. _Hell__ no__!_ his mind screamed. There was no way he was going to let her ruin his celebration dinner. A change of plans was in order and one came instantly: Choji. The area of the Akimichi Clan was up ahead – he'd get to eat good food without having to tiptoe around his official teammate.

"Ah, actually we were heading for Choji's," the Jinchuriki replied casually. He instead proposed, "How about we meet tomorrow for ramen instead?"

Something he wasn't quite familiar with passed through Sakura's eyes. She eyed his two friends with suspicion and that mysterious something else before returning to him and hardening her gaze. "You'll just have to change your plans then." Naruto closed his eyes and mentally started counting to ten. As for the kunoichi, she crossed her arms. "I don't know what's gotten into you Naruto, but I'll get to the bottom of this today – starting with why you always try to avoid me lately."

_So she did notice_, he thought, but this only fueled his bad mood. In his mind, she was simply acting like this _now_ because Sasuke wasn't back yet; how else could she have even figured out he had lied in the first place? So he had leveled up from third wheel to placeholder now… great. The short blond, took a deep breath. A miracle – It would take a miracle for him to not snap at her, or better yet get rid of her. He shook his head; he would get to enjoy some time with his friends, even if that meant getting a beating in the end.

"Sasuke, you're back!"

Naruto glanced behind him to see that effectively, the Uchiha was back along with Kakashi, just like Ino had screamed. In fact, the blond girl was already latched to the boy's arm. This angered Sakura, which in turn relieved Naruto. He watched pink haired kunoichi go harras-er, 'defend' her crush with a tired smile and started walking away with his friends, glad to have dodged that kunai.

"Oi, dobe, you aren't going to ignore me, are you?" said the third member of Team Seven.

Naruto cursed under his breath. He was so focused on Sakura that he had forgotten about Sasuke, the one who actually went out of his way to grab Naruto's attention. Like with Sakura, he really did not want to stroke the Uchiha's ego, nor trade insults with him. He turned around smiling apologetically. "Sorry Bastard, I'm not really in the condition to catch up with you right now. I'll see you tomorrow." There, that should do it. "Oh, and welcome back Kakashi," he added as an afterthought.

"Aren't you guys going to Ichiraku's?" Sasuke insisted, "In that case—"

"No, we're not," Uzumaki snapped, "And you're not invited anyway so piss off, Bastard," he finished flippantly. Sasuke's eyebrows shot up, even Shikamaru and Choji gave him a surprised glance. He simply turned around and started limping to his destination. So perhaps he might have come off a _bit_ strongly… for once he didn't want the attention – couldn't they just get the message and leave him alone?

He understood his mistake when he heard Sakura run in his direction yelling, "Naruto, you idiot! How dare you?" Probably not a good idea to insult Sasuke in her presence, he remembered. He counted himself lucky Ino hadn't followed as well. It was the usual routine, really, only Naruto's irritation was turning slowly in to full blown anger. If he had known, he would have chosen to get a second beating and be done with it in the first place. He closed his eyes he prepared for a punch behind the head…

It never came. Turning around he saw Sakura struggling with Shikamaru's Shadow bind. It was the first time Naruto had seen his friend angry, the first time the Chunin's black eyes sent a cold chill down his spine. "Listen to me you stupid girl, I'm tired of seeing you beat the crap out of Naruto. It might be fun to you, but for me and any other shinobi it's called 'assault and battery'. If you have a problem keeping your hands off him, I'll fix it for you – permanently." The shadow that had slithered its way to Sakura's right arm then receded.

To say Sakura was shocked would be an understatement, in fact, she was shaking. But someone suddenly stood next to her; she turned and saw Sasuke, sharingan activated. He glared at the Chunin and said coldly, "You should mind your own business, dead last."

Shikamaru blinked, then pointing at Naruto he said, "Funny, this dead last beat Gaara – which you couldn't. In fact, last I heard he beat _you, _the rookie of the year prodigy. …Must've been a fluke. Oh wait, I'm a dead last too and I'm _Chunin_… wonder what that makes you, Sasuke."

The last of the Uchiha bristled, but before he even thought of a retort, Choji stepped in front of Naruto right by his best friend's side. "Drop it, Uchiha," he said, cutting Sasuke off. "And Naruto's our business too," he added.

The standoff was getting tenser by the second, with Ino completely clueless about everything going on, seriously wondering which side to pick, and Kakashi totally absorbed in his book, And Sakura, still giving Shikamaru a startled glance. Naruto, though grateful for the intervention, really wanted to leave and so decided to intervene. He grabbed his friends by the shoulders and said, "Let's just go guys." To his team, he repeated once more, "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Sakura decided to snap out of it at this moment. "No, we'll settle this right now!" she nearly shrieked, then seeing she everyone's attention and then some, she took a deep breath and asked pleadingly, "What happened to you, Naruto? I don't know why but ever since you came back from that… mission with… Shikamaru you've changed." Naruto didn't like the way she said his friend's name at all. "It's like you don't to be around us anymore. Instead you're always with them." He noticed that Sasuke was listening intently for once; he thought the same. Sakura went on. "Why are acting so distant? Sometimes you act like being around us is painful."

Naruto looked at her in pure disbelief. She couldn't be that clueless, could she? But Sakura could, and she wasn't done yet. "Is it because of the situation Kakashi told us about? Or is it the announcement? Talk to us, Naruto." She looked at him with insistence. "We're your friends, we—"

"Friends?" he said in a tone that scared his teammate. That was the last straw for Naruto. "O.K. Sakura" he said in a surprisingly calm voice. "I wanted to deal with this in private. But since you want to… let's get this over with. One thing though. You said I changed; does that mean you guys haven't?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke again and back at Naruto. "No, not that I know of, of course there was Sasuke's… condition, but as far as I'm concerned you're the only one who—"

Naruto twitched before smiling grimly. Hearing what he had wanted to hear he started. "First things first: Team Seven. Let me say it bluntly; we suck as a team." Sakura was about to protest but he shook his head and cut her off. "Just ask Kakashi later if you want," he said impatiently. "And I'm not talking about missions only; team exercises are everything but, spars are really fights… and the one-sided cheerleading doesn't help either. We're supposed to get stronger together by helping each other, but you guys aren't helping, and you definitely made it clear you don't want my help either."

Naruto took a deep breath; getting angrier than he already was wouldn't help right now He went on. "And you know what? I could work with that, I really could. It's the other things I can't get over." His eyes narrowed. "You say I've changed – damn right I did! It'd be really strange if I hadn't, especially" and then Naruto put emphasis on every word, "considering what you guys did to me before I left, you know?"

This took Sakura and Sasuke by surprise, irritating Naruto even further. "But you know what? What really hurt was that you didn't even bother to apologize" The look on their faces would have been funny in any other situation. From their expression it seemed apologies had skipped their mind – how funny. "In fact," Naruto went on, "When I came back you acted _worse_ than you did before. You said it yourself, _you never changed_. Seriously how was I supposed to react?" he nearly yelled.

Naruto was particularly satisfied of the way he threw back Sakura's words at her, but the pent up frustration prevented him from enjoying it. "The thing is, I acted like nothing had happened and it made everything worse… not for _you guys_ obviously, but it became painful for _me_ to pretend it was alright when everything was so messed up. That one was my bad; I should have been straight with you and Sasuke from the beginning – would've saved me a lot of grief.

"But what _really_ pisses me off is the way you guys try to act friendly outside meetings – like we were close, like you had done nothing wrong." He pointed at Sakura "You only invite me because Sasuke wouldn't stick around otherwise." He then turned to Sasuke "And you go out of your way just to rile me up – and _nothing_ else. Sometimes I wonder if that you only see me as a glorified punching bag or something." Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.

The blond boy couldn't even look at his teammates anymore, the resurfacing resentment made it painful to look at them. A good thing too; if he had seen how his words were hurting Sakura, he might have soften his words for her sake. Instead he continued his rant; blissfully unaware that she had started crying.

"There was a time where I would have taken these things with gratitude," he said, shuddering at the thought, then pointed Shikamaru and Choji. "But I started spending more time with these two, and I saw for myself what real friendship is and how teamwork felt like. And, well, the way you treat me is downright _insulting_ in comparison, so don't you _dare_ use words like friends around me."

His previous anger had all but vanished at this point, and he slumped, tired. "Look, I'm not holding a grudge against you guys, it's just... you know what, I just don't care anymore. Everybody's got people they don't like. And I know I was a bit of a handful before." He looked at his team earnestly. "Let's just start again. I know I'm kind of slow but I'm not hopeless, I just need a little help sometimes. I think I'm a good enough team player and you guys are as well and we can be as good as Ino-Shika-Cho when we put our mind into it. I don't need goading to fight," he added, looking at Sasuke, "just ask and I'll be glad to kick your ass." He finally looked at them. "Let's try to make this team work."

The way he said it made Sakura wipe her tears in hope. Maybe it wasn't too late; yes, they could fix everything, they would get through this together… but her thoughts stopped in their tracks when she saw his tired eyes.

"But aside from missions and training, kindly stay the hell away from me," he stated bluntly. "Stop acting like we're close; stop pretending to care. And don't _ever_ call me your friend. I'm not asking to like me, just to work with me, and I'll be doing the same. You guys do that and we'll be fine."

Naruto felt even more emotionally drained than before. He knew that confronting them so soon would be a bad idea, but somehow his team just knew how to push his buttons; it would have been funny if it wasn't so infuriating. He really was ready to go now; he hadn't the strength to even say goodbye.

"Naruto, wait! Don't leave like this, please." It wasn't the plea that stopped Naruto. It was the warmth around his left hand. He couldn't remember a time Sakura had touched him without him being in any kind of pain. He turned around to confront her but the words died when he saw how distressed she looked. "I-I'm so sorry. I never thought— why didn't you— why didn't I—I'm so…" The boy couldn't figure heads or tails of what she saying. Sakura choked a sob, angry at herself "What's wrong with me? I can't even make sense of what I'm trying to say." She furiously wiped her tears away and tried again, "Naruto, I've been so… so…"

"Stupid…?" provided Naruto, surprised himself that for once that insult wasn't applied to him… not entirely anyway.

"Yeah," she sniffled. "Naruto, you're wrong; I care." The blond looked at her with heavy suspicion, but she insisted, "I've been stupid, but I care. Let's talk this over, please?"

Naruto only registered half of what she had said, but got the gist of it. "I said we'd talk tomorrow, but I think I'll the day after would be better now, sorry." Sakura didn't want to; Naruto was feeling desperate. "Sakura, look, I can't… please." There was something in his voice that made Sakura choke on whatever argument she had and she simply nodded instead, defeated. The blond shinobi thanked her with genuine gratitude and left flanked by his two friends.

Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder and said nothing. The Chunin had known this would be hard on him. Unfortunately, there was nothing but support he could offer. Choji expressed the same feelings with a look. They were here for him.

And that was all Naruto needed at the moment.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Looking back, the diner they had at Choji's certainly wasn't the celebration Naruto and his friends had in mind. The food was great, and they did have fun, but the atmosphere wasn't half of what it usually was at the Akimichi's house. He had to admit the altercation with his team was still fresh in his mind, and neither Shikamaru nor Choji were trying very hard to get his mind off the event. In fact, that night Shikamaru seemed as preoccupied as he was. His thoughts being what they were, Naruto opted to turn in early, intending to use tomorrow to make up for today's less than stellar amusement. Fortunately Asuma had given Choji tomorrow off.

The three of them woke up relatively late on the next day and headed to the Nara grounds, where they filled in Choji and their most recent mission. As expected, Choji was as jealous as he was happy to have skipped all of those misadventures. The Akimichi then told them about his own progress and the overall state of Konoha. Hearing about the partial enlargement jutsu Naruto wanted to find out if his chakra reinforced fist was stronger; Choji easily overpowered him.

While Naruto sulked over his loss, muttering about how everyone and their mother was better than him on the taijutsu department, Choji sat near Shikamaru and took out a bag of chips – salt and vinegar. The chubby Genin looked at Naruto's clothes and said, "Hey Naruto do you really like orange that much?"

Naruto sighed. His clothes had been Choji's business ever since they had gotten closer – and Shikamaru had tried to get him out of those before that. He wasn't angry at them, they really thought he wasn't looking as good as he could, and that was nice of them, but those clothes had been the cheapest ones he could find that could both fill his shinobi needs and make him stand out. "Not at first no," he answered truthfully, "but it kind of grew up on me; at least people couldn't pretend I wasn't there, you know?"

Well, he had the money and the constant nagging was getting tiresome… maybe it was time for a change? "Hey guys?" his friends looked up. "Um, I know this is going to sound silly, but could you help me buy some new clothes? With the money I got from this mission, I decided to find me something… cooler I guess."

Choji made a whoop of triumph. As for Shikamaru, he looked like he had just remembered something and went back into his house. The Chunin came back a while later to hand Naruto a bag of Ryo. "I nearly forgot about that thing; here's your part for the whole Kohaku incident. Hiashi Hyuuga said he would either give this to us or my dad, so I took it."

Even at first glance there was a lot more there than what he had received for his A-rank mission. He narrowed his eyes. "Your part's in it too, isn't it?"

The Chunin shrugged. "In case you haven't noticed, I not exactly in need of money. As long as I can pay for Choji's restaurant bills from time to time I'll be fine; think of it as your last thirteen birthday presents."

Naruto looked at the money and at Shikamaru again. "Thanks."

Shikamaru grinned mischievously. "You might not be so thankful by the end of the day."

The blond looked at his friend in confusion till he heard a girl's voice coming from direction of Shikamaru's house. "So there you are guys," said the first member of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho, "So what are we doing today?"

Shikamaru took his neutral tone while Choji was trying very hard not to laugh; enough for Naruto to grow wary. "Ino," said the genius, "meet Naruto." Ino narrowed her eyes but said nothing. "Naruto, meet Ino." Naruto tensed. Shikamaru then grinned. "Ino, Naruto wants to buy new clothes."

The Jinchuriki only started to understand what evil plan Shikamaru had concocted when he saw the dangerous gleam in the kunoichi's eyes. "Well, _of course_ he needs new clothes; no offense Naruto, but what your wearing looks hideous on you." Naruto looked scandalized, but she went on, "Luckily, your good friend Ino is the Queen of Fashion and will pick the perfect clothes for you." She then took his arm before he could even say anything and started to drag him out of the deer grounds.

It was then that Naruto realized he unknowingly became a participant of one of those 'shopping trips' Choji and Shikamaru dreaded so much. "Wait, Ino, I don't think…" but she apparently she did, and she somehow gained superhuman strength to boot. Before they could be out of reach Naruto glared at his traitorous friends and uttered one last curse.

"_Shikamaru_!"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

He couldn't quite believe it; the need for girls to spend endless hours trying, admiring, discussing clothes. Still it wasn't as bad as Naruto thought it would be… especially the part when it was all over. The part when Ino found a new store she wanted to torture him with, and he had to meet the cold stare of yet another misunderstanding shop owner was probably his least favorite. Fortunately, since Ino was with him they decided to leave it be for the moment.

On the other hand he nearly had to fight with Ino for each garment he wanted to try, and each piece of clothing _she_ wanted him to try. Pleasantly enough, he barely remembered her hitting him, and even then it was a love tap compared to what Sakura used to put him through. Outside of the shops, Ino was quite talkative and interested as much in Sasuke as she was in herself, but that didn't surprise him. What did surprise him was she seemed interested in what _he_ had to say as well, more than Sakura ever did at any rate.

After the fifth store or so, Naruto finally found some clothes both he and the blond kunoichi could agree up and, on Ino's insistence, he put them on straight away. Since he rarely strolled in the market district, he decided to see if he couldn't buy a sword for himself. He entered the first armory he could find and asked for a chakra channeling blade. The owner, one of the many anti-Kyuubi partisans – muttered something about something or another and went in the storage for some time. He came out with a nice looking blade and bluntly stated his price. If Naruto saw either Ino's surprise over the cost or the owner's cold smile when Naruto paid without a hint of protest, he did not let it show.

With that done, they visited more shops. These were for Ino this time – to Naruto's distress. It took another hour to finally make it back to Shikamaru's house where he found his two friends talking with a somewhat serious expression. When he neared them, the first thing the young Uzumaki did was collapse. "Why did you leave me with her, why?" he moaned.

Choji chuckled as he chomped on his onion chips. "Sorry Naruto. At least you look better, right?"

It was Ino's turn to whine. "I can't believe that guy! He actually likes orange! Ugh I couldn't get him to pick anything without it!" she then looked at the blond Jinchuriki again. "Got to admit, orange _does_ look good on him."

The other two boys quickly gave Naruto a one over. While true there still was some orange in it, the new dominant color of his attire was a refreshing black. The blond Genin now wore black slacks with flame patterns of various shades of orange going halfway up his shins. For the top he had an orange shirt over which he wore an opened black flak jacket. For the finishing touch, his sandals and headband had changed from marine to black and there was now a sword scabbard fastened horizontally behind his waist.

"Well, thanks Ino! I must look like a thousand times better than this morning," he boasted happily. It probably was judging by the appraising looks he got from his friends anyway.

"And don't you forget it," Ino said, "My beauty and cunning make me the queen of kunoichi," she claimed while making what she thought was an alluring pose. She then started laughing haughtily.

Naruto blinked before turning to his friends "I like her, she's funny." Shikamaru and Choji respectively shook their heads and nodded, both failing to hide a grin. Naruto suddenly remembered his latest acquisition and showed it to his friends. "Oh, and I also got myself this!"

The Chunin raised an eyebrow. "A kodachi? Let me have a look at it."

Naruto handed the weapon while marveling over it. "Doesn't it look awesome? And it can channel chakra, just like Asuma's kunai. I just need some sword fighting lessons and—"

"Naruto, how much did you pay for this?" The tone of the genius' voice betrayed nothing, but Naruto knew better. Shikamaru had probably guessed this blade wasn't of the best quality – like the rest of his stuff really. The blond boy scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, full price I guess, the guy told me it was brand new and I was kind of in a hurry."

"Whatever," his friend shrugged. He then handed to short blade back to Naruto.

The Genin sighed of relief; he really didn't need the others to notice his problems with the rest of the village. Besides, raising a fuss now meat he'd have to wait longer before getting sword lessons. Speaking of which, he had yet to test his new blade. _I wonder which feels sharper_, he wondered. He tried channeling wind chakra and… that was odd, this felt like _coating_ wind chakra, like his fight with Kohaku; something was wrong. He tried again and the result was the same. He made a few swings he was now convinced the clerk had lied to him.

"The no good bastard," Naruto growled with barely restrained rage. "I can't believe he actually did this!"

"…Did what?" asked a confused Ino.

"Judging by his reaction – probably sold him a sword that couldn't channel chakra"

Ino was confused. "But I heard him ask specifically for that; what why would he do that to—" she paused, before her eyes narrowed dangerously "He knew…" she whispered dangerously. "Why that worthless…"

Naruto shrugged, grateful for the sympathy. "It's fine Ino." With that said the blond glared towards the distance. "I'm going to go back there and make him regret ever crossing me."

"…Tomorrow – the shops are all closed now," noted Shikamaru, earning a glare from all three blondes for ruining the mood.

"…What?"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru was now looking at the fourth armory he had visited since this morning. He smacked his head. _I should have asked him for the name of the store beforehand._ The Chunin promised himself this would be the last shop he'd go to, after that he'd just give up and try again another day. When he entered the place he was greeted by the sight of Naruto rudely throwing the weapon on the counter. "And I'm telling you I want my money back! Your sword sucks," Naruto claimed loudly.

"You don't know what you're talking about kid," retorted the owner, "This one of the best weapons store in Konoha. If you're not satisfied with the result, well tough; you won't find anything better, especially for _you_."

Naruto was about to burst a vein, but he suddenly calmed down and instead smiled ominously. "Listen old man," Naruto snapped, "the way I see things you have two choices: either I get my money back, or you lose your clients for a month." The man simply sneered at him ready to throw him out. The blond simply snickered and shook his head. "It seems someone forgot about 'The Konoha Prankster'."

The store owner paled. Shikamaru remembered there was a period when Naruto was quite the troublemaker, but it couldn't be that bad, could it? Well, the way the man shivered and actually started to weight his options sure made it seem so. The Chunin shuddered as well; he'd have to start watching his back as well after pulling an 'Ino' on him."

Naruto and the weapons merchant locked stares for a while. Eventually the man relented, "Fine, but no refunds!" The man counted out 9000 ryo and handed money reluctantly. "Now just get out of here," he barked. But as the blond left, Shikamaru's sensitive ear picked up one last hidden remark, "Can't believe I sold _anything_ to that lousy demon," the shop owner muttered. The man looked around his shop and was frozen stiff by the cold stare Shikamaru was giving him. When the Chunin finally left the store, the man at the counter couldn't help but feel he had just made a big mistake.

Shikamaru had barely made a step outside that he was accosted by his friend. "Thanks for nothing you lazy bastard!" The blond quipped, to which he shrugged; Naruto had handled the situation pretty well. Besides, that wasn't the reason he was trying to find Naruto in the first place. He just wanted to make sure Naruto wouldn't put up with the things the village put him through anymore. The blond had shown exactly that. His need and duty to protect the village did not justify, the way he had handled their abuse until now.

"Let's just go and get you a sword already," said the Chunin.

Naruto was suddenly all smiles, and an hour and 3500 Ryo later, he was marveling at his new weapon: short black handle, straight 50 centimeter blade, made of one of the best chakra conducting materials you could find. "Man," exclaimed the blond, "This looks loads better than the old one! I really can't wait for those sword technique lessons."

Shikamaru asked him, "By the way Naruto, why buy a sword? What about the kunai Asuma gave you?" This had nagged Shikamaru since yesterday, but he had been afraid of asking – most often than not, the explanations Naruto gave resulted in a loss of brain cells.

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, I think I'm better using one blade, and I really wanted something with a better reach, so that's that." He scratched his head. "Actually, I kind of want to use the kunai as throwing knives, but I don't want to lose them too… Maybe Asuma can help me with that."

A dilemma indeed. "Good luck with that," Shikamaru said. He then remembered something the other reason he wanted to see his friend. "Hey Naruto, could I have the sword you bought yesterday?"

The blond took out the defective weapon. "Are you sure about this?" he asked him, "The thing's useless."

Shikamaru huffed. "I know that Naruto, but since you already have a new sword let me have this one." The Jinchuriki saw no trouble giving the faulty blade to his friend. He already had the one he needed after all. "Now, let's go see Asuma! I want to work on my wind jutsu."

Shikamaru shook his head. "That'll have to wait I'm afraid; don't forget you have a meeting with your team today."

Naruto smacked his forehead. And he had been the one to propose the day and time – he couldn't back out of it. He really didn't want to talk to his teammates at the moment. At least Shikamaru was with him. "Hey, you're coming with me right?" he asked, hopeful.

"Nope: Your teammates, your discussion, your problem."

"The least you could do is keep me company, lazy bastard!" Shikamaru tried protesting, but the blond was making use of his own kind of selective hearing. Without any warning he started to drag the Chunin with him. In the end Shikamaru did the only thing he could do – he huffed and crossed his arms.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Sakura was nervous. After hearing from Naruto what he thought about the situation, the girl couldn't help to fell shame and sadness. His words had worn her down, pierced the armor of her ignorance, and went straight for her guilt without mercy. If the tirade had hurt, his need to get away from them had completely depressed her. She had thought the relationship between them had changed for the best, but she had been wrong. The worse part? She had no idea to say to Naruto, because he was right.

Behind her, Kakashi was in his book, as usual. The only thing the Jonin had these two days said was whatever the outcome they had deserved it – not very encouraging. She turned left, where Sasuke was leaning against a tree. The Genin had been moody since his return. Surely Naruto's rant still rankled for him as well. Unfortunately Sasuke wasn't good at sharing his feelings. She only hoped the boy wouldn't push Naruto away from them more than he already was.

A moment later and Naruto arrived, accompanied by Shikamaru. Sakura's eyes shone with jealousy. She knew she was merely deluding herself, still she couldn't help but feel the lazy Chunin was trying to steal Naruto from them, his team. Then again, if that was really the case, they had practically done the job for him. She scowled; that still didn't give him the right to assist to a team meeting.

She then blinked, and took a good look at Naruto again. Next to her the rest of Team Seven was doing the same. _He looks different_, she mused. And in a good way too - the new wear definitely suited his personality while being easy on the eyes. She voiced everyone's opinion by saying, "Looking good, Naruto."

"I know right?" the blond looked quite happy of his new appearance as well. "Ino picked the clothes for me." His shoulders then sagged. "She didn't have to burn the old ones though," he muttered sadly.

Ino? Team Ten again. How were they able to get Naruto out of his clothes? She remembered telling him many times that his old jumpsuit was ugly and that he needed suitable clothes. He had never asked her to help him shop for new clothes… did he? She also couldn't remember a time when she had gone shopping with him for anything… damn! Sakura mentally shook her head there was plenty of time to feel guilty after they had settled everything.

For the mean time, however… "Why is he here?" she asked, envy once again appearing on her traits, hidden behind a somewhat cold welcome.

The young Nara shrugged and gave his friend a look clearly expressing that he knew this was coming. Naruto glared at Sakura, but couldn't stop his friend from leaving; she was right after all. "Let's do this quick" he said, sending another glare in her direction, "I have things to do after this."

The kunoichi huffed, but inside Naruto's glares had stung. She tried getting some support from the other members of her team. Unfortunately Kakashi and Sasuke didn't look particularly interested in the meeting. The pink haired kunoichi felt a bit lonely; why was it that she was always ended being the messenger in these cases? Usually this kind of things would have been handled by… Oh.

"Ah, before we begin," Naruto said as he sat down cross-legged, "I have to apologize; I kind lost my cool back then, you know? I know I had to tell you all this stuff, but I didn't need to blow it out for everyone to see." He looked down with a sheepish grin. "And I kind of made you look bad Kakashi, sorry about that." The boy looked up to see the Jonin shrug and he chuckled, before taking a more serious expression. "Now, I already talked my piece, so I'll listen to you guys."

Sakura, who had wondered what to say for a good while now, found that the feelings she wanted to covey to her teammate came naturally to her when she saw the way he was looking at her – like he would a stranger. This wouldn't do at all; if Naruto treated her as such from now on he might as well switch teams altogether, and Sakura wished for neither options. Her nails dug into her palms to help hold his gaze without flinching. And she explained her side of the story.

She first told him how sorry and empty she felt about day of the Kyuubi revelation, how frightened she was when he left, how worried she became during his absence. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise a couple of time during her recollection. Taking this as a good sign, she went on to explain the unease she felt when he came back, and the feeling of helplessness that took her when he lied to her, and how that had pushed her to seek training with Kurenai. She finished by telling him how she felt right now and apologized once again.

A heavy moment of silence followed. Naruto's head hung low, so the pink haired kunoichi couldn't see his face. The suspense unnerved her, but after a few seconds more he lifted his head and Sakura was a more worried by his blank face. "I see…" he simply said. Sakura bit her lip _'I see'? …that's all?_ Her heart sank. Meanwhile the blond had turned to his other teammate. "Sasuke, Anything to add?" he asked.

Her raven haired idol seemed to hesitate. He took a deep breath and looked away. "About… those times…" he let out, and Naruto immediately frowned, "I let the curse seal control me, and because of that I did… questionable things – things I would never dream of doing otherwise. I was way out of line," he admitted.

_I suppose that's the closest to a formal apology he'll get from Sasuke, _thought Sakura. Naruto must have thought the same because he snorted "Apology accepted, I guess …Anything else?" He looked at her and then at Sasuke, but both remained silent. He then looked at his mentor. "I guess I'll see you guys around then." The Jonin looked up from his book and eye-smiled. The blond grinned, dusted his new pants, got up and started to walk away, doing absolutely nothing to ease the worries of his teammates.

Sakura called out to Naruto, wanting to get a clear understanding of the situation. "Naruto, wait!" The boy, already ten meters away, stopped and turned around. Sakura tensed under his raised eyebrow. "What happens now?" she asked nervously.

Naruto stared at Sakura in confusion. "I already told you, didn't I? We're teammates; nothing more, nothing less. You stay out of my way, I stay out of your way, and everybody's happy."

Sakura shook her head. This wasn't at all the outcome she hoped for; this wasn't an ending she could be happy with. The kunoichi was a bit surprised and hurt her genuine feelings couldn't get through him… she had apologized, and she had recognized his worth; wasn't that enough? What Sakura hadn't realized was that Naruto did get her, but it was too little, too late. As much as it warmed his heart to know he had been missed, or valued, she and Sasuke had done nothing to reflect that. In fact their actions had demonstrated the opposite most often than not.

Sakura looked around for support. Kakashi was still in his book, and didn't seem to care. To his credit though, had talked to his squad about their behavior, and Naruto seemed to think he was the only one that had behave correctly out of all of them,. As for Sasuke, he refused to look at Naruto. Well, if he wanted for things to remain like that, she certainly didn't.

"I won't stay out of your way," she told him clearly. Naruto frowned, but she didn't care. She just knew there was no way she could handle the guilt of losing someone important to her because of Sasuke again… it was starting to become too much for her. "Don't you want to go back to the way things were before?" she pleaded.

Naruto looked at the pink haired kunoichi, and she could clearly see the hurt and the tiredness he didn't voice about the situation. "There was nothing good for me before. I just never realized it."

Sakura nodded reluctantly. "But we were friends then." She gulped. If Naruto denied even that, she just didn't know what she'd do.

"You're using that word again," Naruto warned, but then he snickered bitterly. "Did you even have friends, Sakura?" he said, looking away. "Do you see any of them putting up with what I have?" he said seriously, "I thought it was the price to pay, you know? For being what I am."

It hurt seeing the childish, ever-so-bright Naruto so… jaded. She bit back her tears; what he needed right now wasn't pity, it was friendship, and as late and selfish as it was, Sakura was not going to give up. Naruto might pretend he didn't need them anymore, but she needed him.

"Naruto… we let you down; there is no excuse for what we…" She shook her head; she needed to take responsibility for her behavior. "…For what I did to you. I… can we start over?"

Naruto blinked. "…isn't that what I—?" he started, but Sakura cut him off.

"No," she said, "I mean start _everything_ over." Naruto looked confused, but she went on "…A big reason why I was so mean to you was well… I don't know really." And she really didn't. Naruto was in a way, a replica of her inner-self, her repressed self. She was taught that kind of behavior was looked down upon, so when she saw Naruto, the dead last, flaunting those traits proudly and failing because of it – or so she thought – she unconsciously resented him. Peer pressure and his rivalry with Sasuke didn't help either.

She took a deep breath. "That's why I want to start over, from zero. I want to know the real you, to make it up to you. And if that doesn't work, I'll figure something out, because it _won't work_ for me if we aren't friends." She had run out of words and so she decided to resort to one last trick. It was a little dirty, but… willing for some tears, "…Please?"

Naruto's jaw dropped. "I…You… you're using the _puppy dog eyes_ on me?" he said, scandalized. Sasuke's eyebrows rose. Kakashi was using his book to hide the fact he was trying not to laugh. The blond knew of his weakness to sympathy and tried to look away but Sakura had subtly closed the distance, almost forcing him to look at her disarmingly endearing face. The only thing Naruto could do was let out a frustrated sigh, "Fine! Do what you want, See if I—" The air left his lungs as the pink haired kunoichi crushed him under a fierce hug. When the Kyuubi host recovered from his surprise he first wanted to shrug her off, mad at himself for falling for such a trick. That changed when he felt her body being racked with sobs; now the blond had absolutely no idea what to do. "H-hey Sakura," he tried, "you can stop now, you know?"

But Sakura wasn't faking at all; she really was crying and couldn't stop thanking Naruto and apologizing to him between her sobs. She was so relieved that everything had just burst open, and now she couldn't stop, neither did she want to. It wouldn't be easy, there still would be some tension… things might not even work out in the end… but that didn't matter right now. Only one thing did:

She hadn't lost him yet.

_**And with this Naruto rekindles his relationship with Team Seven. Let's hope it holds this time.**_

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**A/N: And that's it folks! That's the end of the Peacemakers Arc. Next up The Fifth Hokage, or Tsunade… which ever sounds better. Thanks again for all the support and reviews, they're very welcome. **

**I know people didn't want some kind of reconciliation for Team Seven but think of it this way, they're not at all at the point they were before. Sakura's is ignorant and clueless, not stupid; plus she had time to think about things without Sasuke, and she trained a bit under Kurenai. That's all I'll say on that.**

**P.S. I'm looking for a beta reader... part time, at least until I can work something out with KeiGinya.**

******Here's your R&R snippet.**

**Rev: Thank you for updating with /so much/ character development! I have a feeling Shikamaru's lazy side will regret his decision to let 'no one mess with his friends' as early as during the confrontation with Sakura.**  
**Shika: **Actually, I regretted it the second the thought left me.  
**Naru:** …Hey!  
**SShun: **_*laughs*_

**_Also, I disagree with his sentiment about Naruto being the embodiment of bad luck. […] Either way, the bringer of bad luck is Shika, not Naruto.  
Shika: **No way! I don't have to put with even half of this crap when Naruto's not around! It's all him I tell you.  
**Naru:** …Well I wouldn't have women trouble if I wasn't with you!  
**Shika: **_*raises finger*_ … _*lowers finger and sighs*  
_**Naru:** Ha!  
**SShun: **…Notice that women problems rank higher for Shikamaru than even the Akatsuki.

**_Although I don't know how taking a beating from Temari will help him... Maybe the gods over there just have an interesting sense of humour.  
Naru:** Ha, ha, ha. Again with the underhanded compliments.  
**Shika: **…Well I'd say their sense of humor would be pretty spot on… if they weren't always after me, that is.

**_Also, I just love it whenever someone realizes things like Shikamaru did: "And those guys had a Boss?" That's just awesome - except for the people who have to deal with them, of course.  
Naru & Shika: **_*eye twitch*_…of course.


	36. Exposure

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'  
This chapter has been Beta'ed by **Zanros. **Thanks a lot!

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**36. The Fifth: Exposure**

_**Team Seven went through some changes; let's hope it's for the best.**_

Shikamaru was lying in his bed, doing the second thing he did best: thinking. The past few days were not so troublesome compared to the events around their return to Konoha; there was the pursuit, the painful dialogue with Yugao, Naruto laying down the cold hard truth… Now, the matter had shifted to the villagers' hostility to the Nine Tails' Container. He had spent some time with Choji on the problem and so far the only thing they could do affected the merchants; a small part of the population. Still since that was the only target they could hope to hit, they had made plans to do so, and with Ino on board things could get… interesting.

He was still trying to find ways to turn around Konoha's irrational hatred of Naruto when he heard a knock. Moments later the door opened, and a man with an identical hairstyle to his own appeared through the opening.

"Hey Shikamaru," the man said jovially. Shikamaru returned the greeting apprehensively. Shikaku Nara rarely went to his son's room. It never was for a good reason. "It's been a while since we played shogi together," mused the man aloud.

Shikamaru sighed in frustration. "I'm not playing against you," declared the Chunin.

Playing his father was one of the most aggravating experiences he could think of. It wasn't that he always lost to the current head of the Nara clan; no losing was a given, not anyone could go head to head with the Jonin leader and master strategist of Konoha. The problem lied in the fact that Shikaku gloated over every win, taunting and mocking his son from the first move to his inevitable checkmate. Sometimes he would even go so far as to handicap himself or pretend to be in trouble just to get a rise out of him.

In other words, his father was a bastard.

"Now, don't be like that, son; I'm sure you'll beat me this time," the man said, almost succeeding in keeping a straight face – almost.

Shikamaru snorted; if he had to spend the evening do something, might as well be something fun like thinking, or sleeping, or hanging with Naruto. Speaking of which… The younger Nara slapped his forehead. "Fine," he sighed, "One game." His father beamed. "But while we're at it," continued the boy, "Do you have any pictures of the Fourth I could look at?"

Shikaku's expression became guarded all of a sudden. Shikamaru concluded his theory was right; seems a bit of research on the honorable Fourth would explain Danzo's mysterious epithet for Naruto. "It's just that I found it odd that I haven't even seen one photograph of him – at all; you'd think that a hero like Minato Namikaze would have his pictures everywhere."

The Nara head scrutinized his son a bit before smirking. "Took you long enough to realize that," he said. He hummed for a few moments. "Well I don't see why not," he finally answered, "You'd probably figure it out eventually, and it's not like his picture is banned or anything. I'll be back in a sec."

When his father came back with the photograph, Shikamaru nearly fell out of his bed. Blond hair, blue eyes, and that serene smile… He was looking at Naruto – or at least what Naruto would look like in ten years. _How could I have not seen this before?_ The resemblance was downright unreal – 'Fourth's legacy' indeed, and in more ways than one. "I'm an idiot," concluded the Chunin.

"Damn," his father snapped his fingers disappointedly. "I should have recorded you saying that!"

Shikamaru ignored the jibe and focused on the meaning of such a revelation instead. He could understand the political reasons behind the decision to hide Naruto's heritage. On the other hand, he couldn't grasp why his friend grew up the way he did. He'd be expecting people fighting to get custody of Namikaze's child, or at least get in his good graces. Why was Naruto living in such a shabby apartment? His father must have left him _something_. He found the answer he was looking for, but didn't expect for it to produce even more questions.

Shikaku Nara shook Shikamaru out of his morose musings, "Hey, you've seen the picture; how about we play now?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

Shikamaru snorted. "Sure, whatever," said, the Chunin as he got out of bed. "Man, I almost wish I hadn't asked for that picture – how troublesome."

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A few days went by since Team Seven's reboot. So far, time had been spent between training and one C-Rank mission. From what Naruto gathered of his interactions with his teammates up to the rescue mission they were just coming back from, only Sakura had apparently changed – Sasuke and Kakashi remained more or less the same.

Apparently, Sakura also made a hell of a difference when it came to the Team Seven dynamics.

Sakura was more competent than before – that is to say, she actually _was_ competent now. What little she studied in genjutsu was useful – to the point Naruto wondered why he had never thought of studying this branch of ninja arts; whether to slow down or stop an opponent, to distract, or for plain old fun, the Kunoichi's illusions became a necessity in the team's way of working.

But that wasn't the biggest change in the blonde's opinion. The real surprise was seeing his teammate focus on the mission instead of Sasuke. Sure, He could see by the way she blushed that she was still obsessed with the Uchiha. But she had now an 'off switch' for her inner fan girl. In other words, she had become more dependable. Naruto couldn't have asked for more – as far as the missions were concerned.

He couldn't comment on the training portion, for the simple reason that he wasn't there. After that eventful meeting with… pretty much Sakura now that he thought about it, he sought out Asuma for some pointers on wind chakra manipulation and advice in order to complete or improve his new jutsu. Since Ino and Shikamaru were busy studying some clan techniques, he accepted. In fact, Sakura had asked for the same thing, only to further her genjutsu repertoire under Kurenai, which left Sasuke to hone his skills one on one with Kakashi: the ultimate win-win situation.

Not to say all those good things came without side effects. Sakura remained true to her words – overbearingly so. To the kunoichi, 'restart' simply meant forgive and forget. Problem was Naruto hadn't forgotten anything. Heck, Sakura's eagerness had him wondering if he wasn't holding a grudge after all. The change in his teammates should have been his dream come true… instead he kept longing for the time where his pink haired teammate ignored him all together.

Another thing that came with Sakura being more interested in him was that she finally started noticing things… like the cold stares or the prejudice Naruto faced every day. Naruto couldn't help comparing her reactions with that of his best friends. Shikamaru and Choji's anger had been turned at both him and the villagers – the people of Konoha for obvious reasons, and Naruto for not doing anything, or at least not telling them. Since then they had started sending glares of their own. The boys also became adamant about correcting every wrong done to Naruto since he came back from the Wheat village. As for Sakura…

Naruto turned to his teammate. "Uh, Sakura…? Could you stop looking at me like I'm going to die? It's a little unnerving."

The girl looked guilt stricken and quickly averted her gaze. "Sorry about that Naruto."

The boy shrugged, but it really irked him. The pity looks Sakura now gave him did not help him. Naruto didn't need pity. If training or advice – or anything else really – were offered he'd gladly take it. If his teammate truly disliked his current situation she would at least bring it up; she hadn't even done that.

"By the way, you've become loads stronger since the last time we saw each other!" Naruto mused out loud, hoping to alter the present mood.

Sakura beamed. From the looks of things she was waiting for someone to comment on her progress. "Thanks. I can't drag you guys down forever," she claimed confidently.

Remembering the first experience he had with her new skills, Naruto asked, "So what was that genjutsu you used on me last time?"

Her smile broadened. "Well, that was the first genjutsu Kurenai taught me – it's called Dream Walk Technique." She paused, trying to cut out the technicalities out of her explanation. "Basically I tricked you into thinking you were still walking. What really happened was you stopped walking the moment I used the jutsu on you."

Naruto grinned. "Cool!"

He was glad that Sakura had powered up. He had always known the kunoichi with the best grades and the best control out of all the Rookie Nine could amount to something if she put her heart into it. Seeing the arguably weakest member of Team Seven getting stronger, Naruto's eyes fell on the Uchiha. "Hey! What about you, Bastard? Got stronger?"

Sasuke snorted but let out a smug grin, letting Naruto that yes, the genius of the group had indeed powered up – considerably so, judging by his superior air.

Naruto's grin turned into a smile. "Good, wouldn't want you to trail behind me, Bastard."

"Not even in your dreams, Dobe," retorted Sasuke in good humor.

Things were inching towards a semblance of normalcy within Team Seven, which was probably why Sakura decided to boldly try to shorten the gap between Naruto and her. "You know Naruto, you never did finish your story," she mused. Naruto mentally snorted. Actually he did – she never paid attention – but he let it slide. Sakura continued, "I'm curious about what happened next. How about you we hear the rest about a nice, warm meal."

Naruto turned to face his teammate to make sure he had heard correctly and almost winced when he saw the hopeful look she was giving him, but settled for a blank stare. He really hated those situations. On one hand, he wasn't at all eager to rekindle a relationship with Sakura, because of the way she had treated him before had left wary. Still, her emerald puppy dog eyes were a genjutsu on their own – probably because he still had a crush on her. Besides, he really felt uncomfortable around Sakura once he declined her invitations. She looked so sad and hurt, he felt like the bad guy – talk about infuriating. And anyway what did she mean by a warm—

Naruto hammered his hand in realization. "Oh, you mean ramen? Sure! I'm starving anyway," said the blond as his stomach roared with approval.

Sakura didn't quite know how to react at that. "You know Naruto, there are other places we could eat at," she proposed placidly, "We could always go to that exotic place near Ino's…" Naruto's blank stare indicated that he had no idea what she was talking about. "…Or the restaurant near here… or even that dango near Ichiraku's…" Still Naruto looked lost – that coupled with nervousness were enough to make Sakura snap.

"Damn it, Naruto!" She yelled before pounding Naruto to the ground – and missing the blond by a hair. All of the members of team seven froze. Sakura fully realized what she had done when she laid eyes on her fist still hanging, ready to testify against her old habits. The pink haired girl took a step back, unable to face her teammate. "Naruto," she almost whispered, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean that."

Naruto waved it off. "S'OK," he assured her, "I didn't expect you to change everything in only two days, you know. Just, don't do it again." He was serious about that last part. He had never seen Shikamaru angry with someone before; now was not the time to see if he'd come through with his… definitive threat.

Sakura nodded and tried again. "What I meant was… is there's no other place you'd rather eat at?"

Naruto pondered on that. "Well, there's Choji's but I don't think it'd be nice to drop unannounced, besides there's only instant ramen back at my apartment."

Sakura gave him a strange look. "Whatever, let's just go for ramen then." Naruto shrugged and Team Seven headed for Ichiraku's. As they sat down and ordered Sakura pointed another food stand about ten meters away. "See Naruto the dango stand isn't far from Ichiraku's. And I'm sure you'd like the food there."

Naruto felt uncomfortable. He'd really rather eat his ramen in peace than take on all those cold stares he'd get anywhere else – if they even let him eat in the first place. "Maybe…" he let out noncommittally.

He heard a sigh and turned towards Ayame. The ramen stand girl gave him a sympathetic smile. "You should tell her Naruto."

Naruto actually glared at Teuchi's daughter. She mouthed an apology, but the deed was done. With Ayame making it more mysterious than the matter really was, Sakura had grown curious, and so did Sasuke. Kakashi gave Naruto a telling look – apparently the Jonin thought he should have been informed of the situation. It's not like Naruto had kept anything secret really, it just that the subject never really came up; he had no qualms living off ramen after all.

Oh well …might as well tell them. "Sakura, I can't eat there." Naruto started.

The kunoichi's eyes narrowed. "Why? Were you banned? Was this because of a prank you pulled?" her tone changed when she noticed how accusatory she sounded. "We could talk to them – I'm sure this just a big misunderstanding."

Naruto sighed. "It's not that simple, Sakura. I didn't _do_ anything."

Sakura tried to understand what she just heard. "Naruto..." And there was that annoying pity look again… she was probably starting to put the pieces together now. "…That's only for the dango stand, right?"

"Let's just say there's more than one reason I go to Ichiraku's," Naruto said evenly.

"Ever since the announcement…?"

The blond shook his head. "Actually, pretty much all of the adults knew since the day it happened."

And that was all it took for Sakura to start tearing up. "Naruto…"

Naruto looked away before he said something he'd regret. "It's fine Sakura. You can't force people to change," he said knowingly. "Let's just eat the food OK? I have to go ask Asuma something after this."

And so they did for a while. Sasuke chose this time to update Naruto on his training, which consisted of accompanying Kakashi on B-ranked missions to gain experience. He then asked about the Jinchuriki's latest trip with Shikamaru. Naruto welcomed the change of subject, and decided to finish his accounting of what he dubbed 'The Kohaku Mission'. As he finished the politically correct version of his story, Naruto noticed Sakura had a faraway look in her eyes. "…Something on your mind, Sakura?"

Sakura seemed a bit reluctant to share her thoughts, but after a bit of prodding she asked, "Naruto? How come you're so close to Shikamaru?"

Naruto blinked. He hadn't expected this question. "Oh well let's see… Shikamaru and I were always comrades of sorts – we were part of the infamous 'drop out four'." Sakura rolled her eyes while Naruto went on "So yeah we knew each other, but we weren't that friendly, you know? Well at least until You-know-what happened." He took a breath. "No offense, but what you guys did…" Naruto shook his head, still not knowing how to finish that sentence. It had hurt – a lot. Even more so after everything they had been through. The way they had been so openly hostile to Naruto was more effective than the combined cold hatred of the entire hidden village.

"So for a moment I thought maybe Konoha just wasn't my home, you know? But Shikamaru went after me and he helped me – and we weren't even that close." Naruto knew looking back that he had been more than unreasonable, but Shikamaru had still done his best to help and support him. More importantly, he put his own neck on the line in spite of the Kyuubi. Seeing how his so-called friends had reacted… how could he not consider him one of his important people?

"He's a good friend," Naruto summarized, "the kind that sticks to you no matter what happens. I needed that. That's pretty much it."

The stand was silent for a moment, sporadically broken by the sound of Naruto slurping his noodles. He looked around and was surprised when everyone was looking at him sadly – even Ayame and Teuchi._ And that's another thing for Shikamaru, _realized the Jinchuriki,_ he doesn't pity me_. Naruto really didn't need people to remind him his life sucked. He could understand for the Ichiraku staff, but that even Kakashi was looking at him like that… Fortunately Sasuke had the decency to look unaffected.

Naruto was surprisingly full after his first bowl. He got up, ready to leave. As he headed out, Sakura called out to him. "He's not your only friend, Naruto."

Naruto stopped, but didn't turn around. _You're right,_ he admitted to himself, _but you're not one of them, right now._ "Choji, Hinata, Shino…" he thought about it for a second, "I guess Ino…– um, you're right; I do have some friends," he answered her.

He left without even bothering to look back.

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Naruto was in a bit of a foul mood when he left Ichiraku's so he was a bit underwhelmed when Jiraiya made his exuberant appearance near him. He passed an arm around his shoulders and said, "Hey kid, I was looking for you!"

"Pervert Sage," Naruto acknowledged curtly.

The man staggered before snapping, "Damn it Kid! Stop calling me that!"

The blond shrugged "What? It's true."

"That's not the point you idiotic brat!" whined Jiraiya. He shook his head. "Look, just stop ruining my mood. Anyway, pack your things – we're going on a trip"

That somewhat shook Naruto out of his mood. "Eh…? Why?"

Jiraiya puffed his chest. "I, the supreme master of the sage and toad arts, decided to impart some of my awesomeness upon you – so be grateful." Naruto gave him a clueless look, and the sage smacked his head before saying in exasperation, "I'm going to train you, damn it!

Naruto thought about the proposition for about two seconds before he said, "No thanks."

"W-what? You'd refuse one of the Sannin as mentor?" spluttered said Sannin.

Naruto gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. "You suck at teaching, you old pervert!" the blond snapped angrily, "You don't teach any cool jutsu for a while and then you make me sing a contract with some Yakuza toads – and I'm not sure who's doing who's bidding here. Oh, and let's not forget, _you_ _threw me over a freaking cliff_!"

The sage scratched his chin. "Well… the toads are strong… and well… you learned to draw out the Nine Tails chakra at will, didn't you?"

Yeah, that foul thing that almost killed Shikamaru. Naruto let out an irritated growl. "Forget it," he told Jiraiya, stomping away.

Seeing Naruto was refusing his proposal, Jiraiya revealed his trump card. "Oh well, I was going to teach a jutsu stronger than the Chidori… I guess I should teach it to Sasuke then."

"I already have one," murmured the blond.

The Toad Sage mentally started a countdown. _Three, two, one_… he then realized what Naruto said and seemingly warped in front of the boy. "You do?" he asked, startled, "Show me!" Naruto sighed, but complied, always ready show off a bit. Still, for the sake of not blowing himself up, he toned the jutsu down. Jiraiya looked a bit surprised Naruto had come up with such a jutsu on his own. He recovered quickly though.

"It's not even that strong," He argued.

"Wind beats Lightning. Besides, this is the toned down version." Naruto explained.

"Well my technique is loads better that!" The sage said petulantly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sure whatever. Let's say I come with you, who else is coming?"

Jiraiya looked perplexed. "No one; it's a one-on-one training."

"You really think I'm going to go with and old pervert who nearly tried to kill me? You'd probably want me to train while under the Sexy Jutsu." Jiraiya's drool was all Naruto needed to leave – he had better things to do.

The sannin tried to hold him back, but Naruto simply lost himself in the crowd. The blond knew he shouldn't have refused, that training with someone on equal footing with Orochimaru was a once in a lifetime opportunity. However he didn't agree with Jiraiya's idea of taming the Kyuubi. The concept of making use of the source of the village's pain and hatred repulsed him. Besides, he was getting stronger by the day training here.

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After meeting with Asuma, Naruto felt loads better. He had gotten a breakthrough with the Corkscrew Hurricane and couldn't wait to test it out. This called for a celebration at Ichiraku's – hopefully without further annoyance. He came in view of the stand and a familiar face there.

"Oi, Hinata! How's it going?" yelled the blond, "I've never seen you eat on your own here before!" He was totally oblivious to either Hinata's flushing cheeks or Ayame's hidden giggles.

"H-hello Naruto," she answered shyly. She looked at the blond again. "Nice clothes."

Naruto beamed. "So what's up?" he asked. His eyes lit up as he remembered their last conversation. "Oh! Is… _that_ finished?" he whispered loudly "Can I see it?"

Hinata blinked. She grinned once she understood what _that_ was. "Yes, Naruto, _that_ is finished. In fact I have a lot more things to show you next time we spar."

"That's great," he said honestly. He made some small talk with the Hyuuga heiress while he ordered a bowl, but they ate in silence – an exploit for someone like Naruto. The two girls found it worrying.

Finally Hinata asked, "…Is something wrong Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from his third bowl of ramen. "Nah… just getting used to my team again."

Hinata had become curious. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, pretty much everyone changed – especially Sakura." Had Naruto noticed the slight frown on Hinata's face, he might have been perceptive enough to change the flow of the conversation, but instead, he kept on ranting about everything the pink haired kunoichi put him through the last few days. To Naruto it felt like a weight of his shoulders – he hadn't seen Shikamaru since they had bought his new sword and Choji had been busy with his own training as well, so he had no one to share his frustrations with.

He was about to tell his sparring partner about Sakura's pitying looks when Hinata cut him off. "How about a spar, Naruto?"

The blond was startled by the sudden proposal but took it at face value. "Right now?" he asked. After receiving a nod he stood up straight away. "Great idea! I'll get to see those new moves of yours."

"Naruto!" The blond looked back to see a worried Ayame. "Um… I don't think—" she suddenly froze and turned deathly pale. Naruto turned around and saw no one but Hinata, still her usual weird but friendly self. He shrugged; the Ichiraku employee must have remembered something awful. "Ah, never mind," she told him hesitantly, "just be careful."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. He waved the young woman goodbye and followed Hinata to their usual sparring spot. He was looking forward to the spar… so what was with that feeling of foreboding in his gut?

"Something wrong Naruto?" Hinata asked sweetly.

"No, not at all," answered the blond.

For some reason, Naruto gulped.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Shikamaru walked into an interesting scene. Looking for Kakashi to tell him about Itachi, he stumbled upon the Sharingan user patiently listening to the legendary Jiraiya. "I'm telling you Kakashi," complained the Sannin "that brat has no respect. He's nothing like him."

Shikamaru's mood darkened. Here were the pupil and the teacher of Naruto's dad – you'd think with powerful people like that Naruto would have had a better childhood, or at least better ninja training. _Whatever _– this wasn't the reason he had come in the first place. At least he knew they'd have Naruto's well being in mind and would be able to protect him from those two S-class monsters.

"Kakashi," the Chunin let out, announcing his presence.

The Jonin's eye betrayed his smile. "Hello Shikamaru, how have you been?"

The young Nara rubbed his shoulder. "'Been better. Congratulations on keeping your team in one piece."

"I know right? I'm so proud; I've taught them so well."

Shikamaru snorted at that comment, knowing full well that the lazy Jonin had probably done nothing to help his pupils sort out their differences… not that he would have done things any differently. There was a more critical problem though, someone else had grunted in disapproval: Sasuke was here as well. That made matters… delicate to say the least.

The Chunin yawned. "…Right. Something happened during the mission that you might want to be aware of." This got the attention of everyone in the vicinity. "We were attacked during our return here. I was able somehow to listen to the conversation of our pursuers and from what I've gathered they're a group looking for what they called, 'the Fourth's Legacy'."

Sasuke came out of hiding when he saw the ashen looks of Jiraiya and Kakashi, but since he came from Shikamaru's back, he missed the glare he had sent them at the same time. "What's that?" he demanded.

"No idea," replied Shikamaru, "My guess it's some kind of weapon. It's in Konoha, cause apparently they were here recently looking for it. And it seems Konoha isn't the only hidden village with that kind of weapon."

The information he had told them confirmed to the adults that the Chunin knew _exactly_ what – or rather _who_ the Fourth's Legacy was, and so the glare he had sent them took on a whole new meaning. The Copy Ninja winced, but Jiraiya had made more connections and now looked worried.

"Akatsuki," the older man confirmed.

Kakashi became serious all of a sudden. "You think it's them?"

Jiraiya turned to Shikamaru. "Were they wearing a black cloak with red clouds?" the boy nodded "That's them; and now we got a pretty good idea of what they're looking for."

Kakashi nodded. "Anything else?" he asked Shikamaru.

_And now's the tricky part, _he thought. "I know one of them is called Kisame." Both men looked grim. "The other one… You should meet with that crazy ANBU, Kakashi."

Shikamaru profited of Sasuke's focus on Kakashi and Jiraiya to send two signals to the Jonin. First he looked pointedly in Sasuke's direction, then, he focused his gaze on Hatake's hidden eye. He even rubbed his left eye for extra emphasis. Whether Kakashi understood was up for grabs, still he subtly nodded. Well if he still didn't get it, the ANBU woman would tell him.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of Mist is bad news enough. Thanks for the heads up."

"And why would you tell him that in the first place?" inquired Sasuke.

Shikamaru already had his answer planned. "Ask him," he said, bobbing his head towards the Jonin. "For some reason he wants me to report about Naruto's mission to him."

The older Sharingan user shrugged. "Well, he _is_ still under my jurisdiction, isn't he?"

Jiraiya, who up until now had remained in deep thought, raise his head. "Well that settles it," decided the Sannin. "I'm taking Naruto with me whether he wants it or not. Besides I have a boring mission and I don't want to do it alone."

As expected, Sasuke was quick to voice his disapproval. "He's going to take Naruto as an apprentice? What about me?"

Jiraiya waved him off. "You wouldn't be fun; there's no challenge in teaching a genius" That said, the Toad Sage used a Body Flicker and left the place.

Kakashi tried to placate his charge by patting his shoulder. "Don't worry Sasuke," he told him, "you still have me after all."

Shikamaru left, thinking he didn't know who would end up learning the least between the two boys. As for him, he was scheduled to train with his father.

Actual training with his old man… he still wasn't used to the concept.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Sakura wasn't the only one who had changed during Naruto's absence; Hinata's new style had changed a few things within the Hyuuga heiress – the first one being her confidence. Creating and improving her own style had seriously boosted Hinata's belief in her own abilities. She was starting to understand better how could Naruto feel so fulfilled sometimes; when you worked yourself to the ground, and then really see the fruits of your hard work… it was a sensation she was yet able to describe.

When her father discovered her new project, things got even better. The praise she received when he acknowledged her new way of using the Gentle Style erased all the hurtful words Hiashi had been forced to say to keep up appearances. In fact, because of her new air of self-reliance, the head of the Hyuuga was now able to openly praise his daughter, and even if they weren't ready to show her forms to the rest of the Hyuuga, their behavior clearly showed to the rest of the clan that the so-called shame of the Hyuuga had something substantial up her sleeve.

Hinata could have fared better without the constant spars with Neji though. Her cousin had discovered that he rather liked pushing her buttons, to a point Hinata was forced to be on the offensive sometimes. She couldn't deny training with a strong peer was better in the long run, but Neji was making fun of her stal—_interest _of Naruto. The only thing that made the annoying jerk relent was if she beat him in a spar… that only happened twice so far. Needless to say this only turned into motivation to get much stronger.

Still to Hinata, the final test to see if she had changed, if she was closer to her goal, was to actually face him, hence her eating at Ichiraku's. The results were better than expected; she only blushed when he complimented her and had barely stuttered at all. It was going great… until Naruto had mentioned Sakura.

At first Hinata had been patient about Naruto's complaints – he wasn't praising his teammate after all. But Sakura Haruno was all he was talking about. The Hyuuga kunoichi knew Naruto had something for Sakura. She wasn't sure how strong, but was certain it was there. And so to her, Sakura became more a serious issue; first taking away time she spent with Kurenai, now Naruto too?

It wasn't right, but the quasi monologue prompted Hinata to curse the blond in her mind until she decided that she'd simply have him spar with her and show her beloved how much she had improved. Maybe that would stop him from thinking about Haruno.

A spar proposal later and here they were, ready to face off.

To Naruto's credit, he quickly noticed her new stance. "So you came up with your own Gentle Fist after all?" he wondered, taking his usual fighting position. Hinata nodded once. "This is gonna be great!"

Naruto always the one to start things with a bang, moved at top speed and aimed for a punch to the jaw. Hinata waited calmly and when he was in the right range, deflected his right with her left, put her right foot in front of his leg and turned, resulting in Naruto's face hitting the ground.

The blond quickly pushed himself up and tried a jumping roundhouse. Hinata seemingly danced around the blow, aiming her counter leg sweep for just the moment when Naruto's foot made contact with the floor. The Jinchuriki fell flat on his back. From his position, Naruto flipped back and distanced himself. "Whoa! What was that?" exclaimed the blond, "First Sakura with her genjutsu and now this; everyone is getting so strong!"

This was arguably the worst praise the young boy could have made – Hinata had subconsciously decided to move from simply showing her new moves on her crush to unleashing them on the poor boy. Her moves were now faster, harsher, and all around more painful.

Naruto was completely outclassed by Hinata's new style. Though he had incorporated feints and what not into his taijutsu, it remained the same basic style he had learned at the academy, easily predictable and countered; which is exactly what Hinata's Gentle Fist relied on. Maybe that was the reason the Hyuuga overestimated Naruto's struggle, mistaking it for restraint. Maybe that was why she said words she thought would make him snap out of it.

"Is that all? Surely you can do better than that Naruto," she stated coldly.

Her own frustrations clouded her judgment, to the point she did not see the flash of hurt in Naruto's eyes when she made her comment, or his new frown getting more pronounced each time she toppled him, or the growls that steadily replaced his grunts. All she noticed was his speed increase and his moves getting harder to predict; _Yes, he's finally getting serious_, thought the poor kunoichi, _I'm getting closer to being his equal_.

Naruto jumped intending to connect with an overhead haymaker. Hinata directed his blow to the ground with as much force she could muster, hearing a sickening _crack_ for her efforts. That finally got Hinata to snap out of her ire. "Naruto!" she shouted, worried for her friend. She gasped when she truly looked at him; he was bleeding from various places, and clutching his right shoulder, which was probably dislocated.

The kind and compassionate Hinata was fully back now. "Naruto, are you OK? You're hurt; please, let's stop this." For sole answer, the blond growled and replaced his shoulder with an equally unnerving sound.

Looking at him closely now, the Hyuuga shivered. His irises had turned orange, and his pupils into vertical slits – she wasn't only facing Naruto anymore. Hinata dropped her stance, hoping Naruto would snap out of it. "I'm sorry," she said, "this has gone too far; please stop." Her words had the opposite effect. Naruto lunged, his hands no longer balled into fists, but ready to rip and tear their victim apart.

Hinata had no choice; she reassumed her stance and defended against Naruto. This Naruto however, was getting harder and harder to manage. Whether because she didn't put all her heart into it or because of the fox's instincts, the Jinchuriki managed to remain standing after being deflected now. His retaliation was quicker as a result, forcing Hinata to retreat – so much that he managed to push her against a tree. Her degree of freedom was now severely restrained, not to mention she couldn't use _that_ anymore.

Naruto was getting too close to Hinata – she had to strike back. The kunoichi activated her Bloodline Limit, intent on finishing this in one blow. Thinking the same, Naruto attacked with a swipe from his left hand aiming for her neck, Hinata used her own left to put Naruto of balance, but before he could recover she pummeled the chakra opening points around his stomach. The force of the multiple blows sent Naruto rolling a few meters. Hinata lowered her stance, hoping that was the end of it. The places she had aimed at prevented Naruto to produce more chakra – it was also painful; this nightmarish spar should be over.

That is, until her Byakugan saw something that made her sick.

The orange chakra taking shape of the Nine Tails around Naruto as the blond struggled to get up was terrifying. The killing intent was so strong Hinata had difficulty to breathe. The Jinchuriki got up, fully intent on continuing this hellish bout. Unfortunately, the Hyuuga heiress reaction time a decreased due to fear, so when Naruto seemingly teleported in front of her with an outstretched fist, all the kunoichi could do was raise her hands defensively, praying Naruto snapped out of it before it was too late.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

When Naruto came to, the first thing he noticed was his fist making a dent into a tree. He turned left and saw Hinata with her hands protecting her face. There was a trickle of blood dripping from her cheek, no doubt because of the pieces of bark that were still flying from the tree.

The next moment, Naruto had backed away several meters. Hands on his knees looking at nothing, he tried and failed to catch his breath – let alone calm think straight. He was somewhat aware losing control just then. If he had been only a split second late to react… he didn't even want to think about it. How did this happen? This was supposed to be simple spar with Hinata! It was supposed to be challenging, but lighthearted; fun, enjoyable relaxing… When did it all go to hell?

Naruto remembered that it _had_ been all that at first. Hinata's new moves were strange yet very effective. He couldn't tell exactly how she did it, but it turned out to be a challenge and the blond loved challenges… at least until she had said those words. Suddenly this wasn't so fun anymore. Suddenly, he was reminded how he hadn't been strong enough to protect Shikamaru. Suddenly, he looked back to the way Choji had easily overpowered him, even with all his training. At that moment the fun turned to desperation, then to anger at his weakness.

Next thing he knew Naruto had nearly done the unthinkable to a friend. He was so shocked he lost tracked of his surroundings. That's why he jumped when he heard Hinata's voice right in front of him asking, "Naruto, are you alright?" He stepped back, unable to meet her worried gaze.

"I'm alright," he answered quickly. He gulped dreading the answer to his question, "Did I…"

"You never touched me Naruto," she assured him.

Naruto was torn; he was positively relieved he hadn't harmed his friend, but something in his gut nagged him when he realized that he wasn't to match to Hinata even with the Nine Tails chakra.

"You're hurt," she told him, still concerned about him. She made a step forward while he instinctively moved back.

"I'm fine," he said hastily, "I heal pretty fast."

Now that he knew for sure that Hinata was safe, Naruto had no desire to stay near her. He felt so guilty he still couldn't look at her – unaware that the worry etched all over her face was for him. Noticing that she was getting closer even as he back away, Naruto jumped back, getting ready to use Body Flicker get away from here, but Hinata was quicker. Guessing his next move, she moved faster and tackled him to the ground.

Naruto was so startled the looked straight at Hinata, who blushed furiously and looked away. After a moment she let go of the blond – though he thought she was a bit reluctant to do so – and sat up.

Looking at him with a somewhat serious expression, she said, "Naruto… I'm sorry," Naruto, mentally preparing for the worst, was caught completely off guard and couldn't help but gawk at his sparring partner. As surprised as he was, the current impression Naruto had was that of déjà vu. "I shouldn't have pushed you that far. It wasn't until you dislocated your shoulder that I—"

Naruto cut her off. "Wait, my shoulder was dislocated?" He shivered – those kind of injury he really hated – then shook his head; that wasn't the important part. "Are you kidding me Hinata? Aren't I the one would should be saying sorry for attacking you?"

"You weren't yourself—" she tried, but he didn't let her finish.

"And that makes it acceptable?" She flinched, which only fed Naruto's guilt. The boy fell on his back and sighed. "Look, what happened was a mistake – it never should've seen me like… that." He paused. "I'm sorry."

Neither of them said anything for a while. The Jinchuriki simply stared at the darkening sky, while the Hyuuga heiress was starring at the boy that had already done so much for him, angry that she couldn't do more. Finally Naruto sat up, a resolute in his face.

"Hinata, I'm sorry." The kunoichi tried to cut him off, but he went on, "I looked down on you." She froze. "I… it's not only you," he added quickly, "I thought that because I made a bit of progress in taijutsu I could hold my own against you – a taijutsu specialist." It was the same for Choji too; of course everyone would better than him at their best if he was holding back.

"That was stupid of me," Naruto admitted. "Looking back I haven't even a single jutsu during that spar; no wonder I got my ass kicked," he joked. He looked more serious and said; "There was no reason for me to get angry, since I wasn't giving my all in the first place."

Hinata held his gaze for a moment. "You weren't the only one who held back." Naruto's eyes grew wide, and then smiled tiredly, fully conceding his defeat. "I guess that makes us even," she told him, returning his smile. "So what now?" she asked him.

Naruto scratch his chin. "Well, you totally kicked my ass this time, so I want a rematch."

For a moment, Naruto thought he had acted rashly. _Too soon_, he admonished himself. But Hinata, secretly thrilled that Naruto still wanted to spar with her, answered teasingly, "No holding back this time?"

Naruto gave her a thumbs-up. "You know it!" Feeling they had filled their quota of emotions for the day, the teens got up and said their farewells, but before she left, he called after her.

"Hinata!" the girl turned around, curious. "I know things didn't go quite as planned, but thanks for today."

She smiled, nodded, and both were once again on their way, each of them unaware of how the other truly felt.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Naruto hadn't lied to Hinata; he had learned two important lessons today; first was that Hinata had accepted him even after that disaster, making her part of his important people. The second thing was direr; he needed to do something about the Kyuubi. And there was only one person he knew he could talk about the matter openly.

"Naruto!"

The boy turned around to meet the man he was looking for. "Pervert Sage," he greeted seriously.

"You're coming with me and I'm not taking no for an answer," he announced.

"OK."

Jiraiya blinked once. "We're leaving in two days at dawn."

"Good."

And that was all that was said.

_**Naruto's ready to head out. How will he take care of the Kyuubi?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: New **_**arc **_**(I get it, I get it, -_-'). I decided to keep the name of the arc simple, so there you go. Hope you liked this chapter. I made Post-arc Mentions and, Um, I thought of moving the Jutsupedia to the end my profile; Yay or Nay?**

**SShun: **Well, up next is the R&R (at the usual place), but since it's the start of a new arc, I'd like to make a few mentions.  
**Naru:** Oh! Can I help with that?  
**Shika: **How about we _don't_ help?  
**SShun: **…OK then, all you have to do his read these cue cards.  
**Naru:** I can do that.  
**Shika: **Well, if it's just reading…

**Blazing Demon****  
****SShun: **The first reviewer of this fic. I hope you're still reading and enjoying every chapter.

**The Laughing Phoenix****  
****Naru:** For agreeing to be Shun's Beta reader and doing a great job at it for a while.

**TenchiSaWaDa****  
****Shika:** For the insightful reviews – gets Shun thinking a lot about the plot and whatnot.

**Steinbock:  
****SShun: **For reviewing _every_ chapter in the arc! And the fun and thought he puts in every one of them. Honorable mention goes to **DarkRavie**,

**KeiGinya  
****Shika:** For Beta-reading most of this arc.

**alteris:  
****Naru:** For the funny reviews… But that's only Shun – I don't like you! _*blows a raspberry*_

**anon:  
****Shun: **Those critical and in depth reviews made me think a lot, thanks.

**LoveLifeForever:  
****Shika: **For Breaking the review limit. _*whispers*_ and traumatizing Naruto

**star's dreams:** For simply reviewing every chapter or so. Thanks. Honorable mention to **RamenKnight**** & ****XxAlysxX**


	37. Arrangements

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'  
This chapter has been Beta'ed by **Zanros. **Thanks a lot!

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**37. The Fifth: Arrangements**

_**Get ready Naruto: Time to leave with the Legendary Pervert!**_

Naruto woke up a tad earlier than usual, as the day promised to be quite busy since he was leaving the following morning. He still didn't want to leave with the so-called Toad Sage, but what choice did he have? He was the only one who had talked to him about the Kyuubi at all. Jiraiya was his only lead to prevent something like last evening from ever happening again.

Naruto did his morning essentials, donned his new clothes and set out. The first order of business: settle the score with Hinata. It wasn't out of vengeance or anything like that, but he felt like redeeming himself in her eyes. He shouldn't have held back against; it proved nothing for either of them. Besides, after a good night sleep he found something odd about Hinata's style. In any case he wanted his rematch now; before he came back with whatever new training his temporary mentor would put him through. It wouldn't be the same then.

For this reason he was currently waiting for his target, taking a deep breath when he saw her, he moved by her side and greeted her.

"Hello Sakura."

The kunoichi nearly jumped. "Naruto!" she gave her teammate a nervous smile. "Um… how are you?"

"Er… fine, I guess," he answered, which was kind of odd, since he did feel fine despite yesterday going to hell. "Mind if I tag along?"

Sakura looked hopeful blinked. "You have business with Kurenai?"

Naruto scratched his head, "Actually I wanted to talk to Hinata."

Somehow the kunoichi's expression deflated. "…Oh."

Naruto made no comment on his teammate's mood change as he had no idea what had caused it and, to be frank, kind of didn't care. The less he meddled with her problems, the less he meddled with her. Still, seeing her like that did annoy the hell out of him, so he decided to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, I guess I should tell you; I'll be leaving on a mission tomorrow. …with Jiraiya."

"Don't become like him," she warned him. Sakura then bit her lip. "Mind if I see you off?"

Naruto really wanted to say yes, since he didn't think Shikamaru would be there, but… "I… no, I guess not."

The way Sakura smiled was contagious. Naruto shrugged – he could handle Sakura in small doses. They talked a bit about Sasuke and soon arrived at Team Eight's training grounds. Naruto purposefully made his way to the Genjutsu specialist, who was a bit surprised to see him. "Hi!" he said, "Uh, could I borrow Hinata for a sec?"

A nearby Hinata blushed, making Kurenai narrow her eyes. "And why would that be, Naruto?"

The blond scratched his head. Well, no use in hiding it – a loss is a loss, after all. "She kinda kicked my ass yesterday and I want rematch, you know."

The Jonin was surprised, but it didn't even come close to what Shino was feeling judging from his comical expression, since he was the only one out of Team Eight who knew the extent of Naruto's strength. After a few seconds, Kiba regained his voice first. "Hinata did _what_?" he then slugged his teammate playfully, "Way to go Hina!"

This was nice and all, but Naruto still had things to do. A simple yes or no would suffice – he could always come back after training now that he knew of the place. "So, can I?" he tried again.

"Oi, you have to beat me first! I owe you one for the Chunin exams." Kiba said, jumping on the occasion of a rematch of his own.

Naruto however ignored him in favor of hearing what Kurenai had to say. The older kunoichi thought about it for a few seconds. "Hmm… I don't see why not," she said. Naruto beamed and headed into Hinata's direction when he was stopped by Kurenai's next words, "_Including_ Kiba's proposition."

Naruto thought about it and shrugged. "Oh, I guess that's fine too. So once that spar is over, I can fight Hinata, right?"

"No. You must win," Kurenai insisted.

Naruto frowned. "…right." He looked at the Jonin instructor and couldn't detect any ill will at first glance, so he wondered about the trial. Looking again, Kurenai was looking at Kiba strangely. Maybe it was more about the dog user than him… no matter. She had asked for some ass whooping, who was he to turn down a friendly spar? So he nodded and started warming up.

In the mean time, the Genin where encouraging Kiba. "Good luck Kiba. But I must warn you, Naruto's is not going to lose," Hinata cautioned.

"Oi, you beat him once, didn't you?" the Inuzuka said with a snort, "He can't be that strong."

Shino who sided with Hinata on this one replied, "Naruto is much stronger than you think he is, and that's without his clones."

Kiba actually paid attention to that tidbit since his teammate had seen the blond in action recently. "Any tips then?" he asked.

The insect user shrugged. "Try not to lose too badly." Hinata looked like she disagreed, but then she glanced at Naruto, and back at Kiba. After one more look between the two she still couldn't say anything indirectly backing up Shino's claim.

Kiba flinched before storming off angrily. "Some teammates you guys are!"

Naruto took a neutral stance while his opponent looked at Kurenai ready to move at any time. After a tense moment, Kurenai gave the start signal and already the two were off. Kiba was already giving Akamaru his soldier pill, determined not to underestimate Naruto a second time, while Naruto made a dozen of Shadow Clones. What came next however surprised every member of Team Eight.

As the clones looked ready to dish out some pain, Naruto went in front of them and said, "Cheer for me guys!"

To say that the clones were not amused would be an understatement. Instead of obeying to the original, the clones cheered for Kiba instead. "You suck Naruto! Kick his ass Kiba!"

Of course Kiba was ready to do just that, so he didn't need to be told twice. "[Dual Piercing Fang]!"

Next thing he knew, the blond Genin was dodging two drills of potent destructive force. The boy weaved, bobbed, sidestepped, and jumped over every attack coming his way. Naruto, who at first felt pressured, adapted quite easily to Kiba and Akamaru's patterns, so much that he didn't even need to move more than beyond radius of a meter to dodge both the dog user and his companion.

After a minute of this, Naruto cocked his head. "Uh, Kiba… what have you been up to? You're not faster than I remember. It's like we're back at the Chunin exam."

Kiba could do nothing but press on, but he was getting upset. Naruto could understand; from the way he dodged the Inuzuka, it must've seemed like he was using the Byakugan or something. The blond saw him shift his glance towards the Naruto gallery, where only seven clones remained. Then it clicked for his opponent. "You're using your clones!" he accused.

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, so…? You're using your dog."

Still he would be here all day if this went on. "Let's get this over with," he said, before closing the distance between Kiba and him in an instant. The boy had barely the time to react as Naruto made a single seal.

"[Wind Element: Great Breakthrough]!"

He had used a powered down and non-cutting version of the technique and it really showed as Kiba had used his claws and chakra to remain rooted to the ground without any real damage… though he did move a full meter back.

"That all you got?" Kiba gloated, "Won't work on me, Naruto."

The blond smiled. "I know that."

Worried, the hooded shinobi looked to his left, where his partner should have been only to find him gone. "Akamaru!"

"Unfortunately for you, Akamaru isn't a true shinobi, is he?"

Kiba growled before he lunged against his opponent with a swipe at his face, but the blond lazily jumped back. Furious, the young Inuzuka closed the distance again, but before he could strike two clones caught him, each one firmly holding an arm. Kiba tried to thrash around, but the clones were surprisingly sturdy.

"Gotcha!" Naruto simply said.

"When did you…?"

Naruto pointed to his now three-man audience. "Two Clones changed into pebbles while you were covering your eyes during my wind Jutsu," he explained as he stepped closer. "Now, are you familiar with the term solar plexus?" Kiba's renewed struggle was answer enough. His first punch was such that Kiba nearly lost consciousness, not to mention his breakfast. Then Naruto added, "I wonder how many of those until you hurl…" and the Inuzuka knew he was screwed.

Kiba made a superhuman effort to regain his breath and say, "Stop! I give, I give!"

Naruto looked a bit surprised and disappointed, but he let go of Kiba, who fell on his knees and all of the clones vanished. Seeing his sparring partner still on the ground, he outstretched a hand.

The fallen boy spent a good while catching his breath before finally taking the offer. "I can't believe Hinata beat you," he admitted as he got up.

Naruto shrugged, though inside he was a bit surprised. Hinata's new style was awesome, not to mention very effective. He could clearly see how the girl could have beaten him… Maybe they didn't know? That didn't make sense though; why would she try and hide something like that, and from her teammates no less?

He shook his head and let go of Kiba when he was sure the boy could stand on his own. He headed towards the Hyuga with a determined expression. "So, how are we going to do this Hinata?" he asked her.

The kunoichi was a bit startled. She looked at her teammates, then at Naruto, before her eyes trailed to her instructor. After another moment of thinking she nodded to herself. "Let's fight here."

Naruto blinked, but said nothing, respecting her choice. "…Alright." But seeing she was a bit unsure of herself, an idea suddenly popped. "Let's make a wager; loser owes the winner a favor."

Her mind blanked for a moment and Naruto swore that he saw a bit of steam coming out of a blushing face, in fact she almost fainted by the way he saw her sway. He really wondered how he kept doing that to her. A moment however later it was replaced by a determined, if not fierce Hinata. "Naruto Uzumaki, prepare to lose," she boldly declared. The blond didn't know what exactly had produced this reaction, but he was more than ready for it.

They took their starting position and at the starting signal, Naruto immediately lunged for Hinata, only to be countered and land face first in the dirt. That did not stop him however, as his attacks became relentless. Everyone was surprised by what was happening, most of all Hinata herself. Things were happening exactly as last time… what was Naruto up to?

Meanwhile, the rest of Team Eight were startled, but for different reasons. Kiba, who decided to watch the fight next to Kurenai and Shino let out a breath he didn't know he had. "Whoa, is that really Hinata?" he asked to no one in particular. He then looked up to his mentor. "Did you know anything about this Kurenai?"

The Jonin, whose eyes hadn't left the fight since its beginning, was as clueless as her pupil. "…I didn't," She admitted.

Shino, ever the quiet observer, quickly saw what was wrong in this picture. _Hinata has become stronger, but I still cannot see how she could have beaten Naruto, because he is much stronger than that._

Back to the spar, Naruto got up and dusted himself. Despite the blood he was getting ready for more punishment. Across from him, Hinata looked quite upset. So upset in fact, that she dropped her stance. "What is wrong Naruto? I thought this was a serious spar." The blond raised an eyebrow. _What am __**I**__ doing?_ He shook his head._ Fine, I guess time's up._

Naruto sent two clones to attack Hinata. The two copies nearly arrived at the same time and the one slightly in ahead threw a punch. The Hyuuga, seeing the move coming from a mile away was already in mid movement when the second Naruto came out from behind the first one in a crouching position. The way he had moved made it impossible for Hinata to see the maneuver before it was too late – all she could do was block.

Naruto saw Hinata fly farther than anticipated. He became a tad worried when she landed on her back, but she quickly recovered. The Hyuga got up and massaged her arms which were still throbbing, meanwhile looking at him in a mixture of awe and confusion. But soon enough her eyes went back to the two clones who were calmly heading to her direction. The Naruto who gave Hinata her first flight rolled his shoulders and full of confidence said, "I have no problem getting serious, but if you think your new style is enough without the Byakugan, you got another thing coming." He cracked his knuckles and added. "And I won't hold back next time."

That did nothing to help Hinata out of her daze.

"He's joking, right?" asked Kiba, turning a little green as he remembered Naruto's fist.

"Naruto might not, because he's able to dent metal with his punches, if I recall correctly."

Even Kurenai's eyes grew wide.

Hinata quickly replaced her gob smacked look for a grim smile. "Good, then I'll get serious as well. [Byakugan]!" She took the same stance as before, but the clones could already tell things were going to change.

This time, Team Naruto decided for a simultaneous attack. They positioned themselves in front and behind of the kunoichi and one tried a jumping roundhouse to the back of her head, while the second aimed low with a sweep. Hinata lunged before the leg sweep was anywhere near her and tapped his right leg three times before striking his chest with her palm, as he disappeared, she rapidly spun around to raise her right arm deflecting and flipping the still airborne Naruto. Her next strike dispatched him before he even hit the ground.

The real Naruto, who processed the whole fight, had only one thing to say "Awesome!" He repeated his tactic a couple more times and the results were similar – even with five clones. The true power of the Hyuga heir was something to behold; it made him boil with excitement. Seeing that she still attacked faster than he could, Naruto decided he would change tactic. He made some hand seals and now fifteen clones were surrounding Hinata.

"Attack!"

Hinata was clearly outnumbered, and couldn't hope to take on some many foes at the same time, but she smiled. The only thing Naruto saw was Hinata moving her hands at blinding speed, and then a dome appeared, shredding his clones like paper. Naruto was once again speechless.

"That's like Neji's technique – with only your hands!" he shouted once he regained the function of his vocal cords.

"I call it the Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty four Palms of the Hand."

Naruto grinned "I like; sounds fancy. Well let's continue, shall we? [Shadow Clone Technique]."

Once again a small army circled the Hyuga heiress, but this time she didn't even wait for them to move in, she already had her hands in position, prepared to get her chakra dome up and running at a moment's notice. The clones didn't move, waiting for some kind of game plan, and that was Naruto's current focus. He was pretty confident on his chakra reserves, so he first thought of simply outwait Hinata's technique. He thought better; there was a simpler and more fun way of testing her defenses.

Since Hinata wasn't moving he was able to get the preparation ready. And he didn't even need to hide the shuriken in a larger on like last time either.

[Naruto Chronicles: Star Shower!]

Hinata's only response was to move her hands even faster for her new shield. Once the metal rain was over most of the ninja stars were gone, some of the remaining ones were cut apart. _Unreal!_ Naruto thought. Still, Hinata's defensive jutsu had dimmed, and Naruto noticed that the kunoichi's hands had started to slow down.

"Okay guys, let's blow it up!"

Naruto's clones each took out a tagged kunai and got themselves ready. Meanwhile, the real Naruto was making some hand seals. "Ready?" he started pumping his wind chakra in the jutsu. "Fire!"

The salvo of explosive tags reached their target around the same time. The explosion was deafening. Fortunately, Hinata was unhurt, but the concussive power of the tags finally took its toll on her shied and she staggered. She quickly recovered, ready to use the technique again but five Naruto were already in melee range, the real one among them judging by the menacing whirlwind in his hand.

Naruto had to give credit to Hinata. Even with that explosion and in her tired state she still moved faster than he did. Thankfully, he had enough foresight to call his clones with him. When he began his strike and her hand came within reach he unleashed his trump card; a seal-less Body exchange. Of course the beauty of it was that the clones switched with him, so he could keep his jutsu going. Even then Hinata recovered from her surprise fast enough to follow up the real Naruto up to the fourth one. This setup had him face her back when he switched places with his last clone. Knowing she wouldn't be able to escape this he started his uppercut motion.

Hinata knew she couldn't counter attack from her position, she also knew what ever that wind was she couldn't let it make contact with her so she leaned forward. Unfortunately it didn't matter to the blond Genin: she was still within range.

"[Tornado Upper]!"

Hinata found herself trapped within a localized whirlwind and couldn't move. Naruto kept the jutsu going as long as he could, thinking of taking advantage of the damage done to gain the upper hand. He stopped when her clothes had started to tear. When he stopped, the girl rose to meet an already airborne clone who met her with an axe kick, non-powered of course. Hinata met the ground for the second time this spar, but this time she did not get up.

"Hinata? Are you alright?"

The kunoichi stirred. She managed to painfully get into a sitting position. "I'm OK, Naruto. Fortunately you held back with that kick." Hinata didn't not want to think of the state she would be in if that kick had been anything like the punch she received earlier.

Naruto nodded, a bit relieved. He wanted to lend a hand to his friend, but they were still sparring, so he took his stance and asked, "Should we stop now or are you still up for it?"

Hinata shook her head. "I think I had enough for one spar. Besides, I have enough chakra to use the Sixty four Palms only a few more times. I don't need the Byakugan to see you won this time.

Naruto grinned at the praise and like for Kiba, lent a hand to his friend. He felt a bit uneasy about what he was going to say next, but he knew if Hinata wanted to be stronger, she needed to hear this. "Um, Hinata, how do you call you new style by the way?"

"Flowing Gentle Style."

"Catchy… anyway that style is great, and The Eight triangles… _that_ was as awesome as I thought it would be, but… why didn't you try to attack?"

Hinata could see why he had asked that. Neji had told her the same thing many times over. And her answer had always been, "Because I'm better suited for a defensive style."

Naruto cocked his head. "Yeah but, you gave me all the time in the world to think of a way to counterattack."

Hinata hadn't thought of that at all. Neji attacked relentlessly, but it seemed that wasn't Naruto's style – he made use of trickiness as well. And giving an opponent time to prepare, she couldn't think of more fatal mistake.

Hinata smiled. "I see… Thank you Naruto, I'll keep that in mind." In fact, she was already thinking of ways to counter this weakness, And of ways to prevent her new barrier type jutsu of being overwhelmed.

"Whatever – now for the fun part." Naruto grinned. It seemed Hinata had forgotten their wager because she became a bit confused before she paled. Not wasting time, the blond whispered something in her ear. Hinata's eyes grew wide at first, then she became crimson, and finally she shook her head, refusing to comply. This confused Naruto. "Eh? Why? I don't think I asked something that bothersome. I just don't want to upset you like last time."

Hinata looked more embarrassed by the second realizing that Naruto had noticed her change of mood yesterday. Finally, she gulped and whispered her answer to Naruto. The blond blinked a few times. "Oh? …OK, then I won't do that anymore." He said with a shrug "See you around Hinata!"

He left so fast he didn't see Hinata, still red faced, get up and bang her head against the nearest tree. Kiba who was the first to arrive asked a bit perplexed, "You OK Hinata?"

"I'm fine."

The blood trickling from her forehead seemed to disagree however, so Kiba tried again, "Hinata are you sure you're…" he then felt it, the aura a girl mysteriously emitted that told a guy he was becoming annoying.

"I'm fine Kiba," she repeated in the same tone, yet Kiba flinched and hid behind Kurenai.

The Jonin being a woman recognized the situation immediately. "Come on Hinata, I'll take you somewhere." And with that the two kunoichi were off.

Kiba was still overwhelmed by the turn of events. He turned to the remaining member of Team Eight. "What just happened," he asked.

"I have no idea," replied his companion, "girl stuff probably."

That made a frightening amount of sense, so he nodded, and both went back to their clans for training.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto's next stop for the day was Team Ten's training grounds to meet with Asuma. The tips the melee oriented Jonin had provided had helped Naruto shape his swordsmanship to a level where it wouldn't do more harm than good. Besides that, Naruto had decided to work on his improved Corkscrew Hurricane with him. In a couple of days they had found a perfect solution to Naruto's problem, even creating powerful variations of the technique. By the end of his training session, Naruto had even managed to master one of them.

Next was supplies and food for the trip. The blond Jinchuriki didn't know how long this mission of Jiraiya's could take, but he wasn't about to spend it eating soldier rations. After that he spent the rest of the day equally window shopping and hiding from Konohamaru and his friends.

The sun had started setting and Naruto headed towards Ichiraku's in hope he could speak with his now favorite Chunin. He wasn't there, but Uzumaki remained, bragging about his latest exploits. As usual, Teuchi and Ayame humored him, but Naruto could see they didn't believe a word he said, as usual. He was still trying to find a way to convince them when his friend arrived.

"What's up Naruto?"

"Shikamaru!" beamed the exuberant teen, "Help me out here! They don't believe a word I'm saying." The lazy shinobi let himself fall on a stool and waited for some kind of explanation. "Like the fact that I fought Zabuza in the Wave Country."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Demon of the Mist, Zabuza? As in one of the Legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? You?" The workers of Ichiraku were wearing knowing smirks and Naruto about to protest even more when Shikamaru grinned. "That explains a lot."

Ayame and Teuchi were definitely surprised when the young Chunin hadn't denied Naruto's claims. "What do you mean by that?" asked the young waitress.

The Chunin chuckled. "You know that bridge they made in the Wave Country?" Teuchi nodded, having no idea what he was getting at. "That's where Zabuza died, according to the reports." He let that information sink in before adding, "But the real kicker is the name of the place: The Great Naruto Bridge."

Naruto nearly coughed out the ramen he was eating when he heard. It was funny how everyone outside Konoha seemed to acknowledge him. He shook the depressive thought away and instead focused on the two Ichiraku's workers who asked about every story the blond had told them, just to be sure. Shikamaru confirmed every one of them – while sticking to the facts of course; sadly the young Nara didn't have his flair for storytelling. Still the faces they made when they realized that their favorite customer had told the truth all along made Naruto smile in triumph.

"See," he teased. "The client is _always_ right."

Teuchi, laughed about it, glad for Naruto that he was wrong about his stories. "Man! Our Naruto, a little hero! Wait till the boys hear about that one."

That little matter being settled, Naruto informed Shikamaru of his latest mission with Jiraiya. Shikamaru looked skeptical, but said nothing. He tried asking his friend to come with him, but the genius refused of course, give Shikamaru the opportunity to slack off and he'd do just that.

"You'll be fine Naruto," the Chunin assured him, "As long as you stick to your own training, you're bound to get stronger." The Chunin then looked through his vest. "Which reminds me… here," he handed the blond a new sets of training weights, "I tweaked those a bit, so they'll take a bit of getting use to."

Naruto smiled. Shikamaru always came with something to help him improve. More importantly, those ideas always stuck to the basics leaving Naruto to create an improve his own style. He appreciated that. He might not make use of these depending on how long the mission would take or what dealing with the Kyuubi would entail, but he was grateful.

Naruto and Shikamaru spent some more time simply enjoying their meal, before it was time for Naruto to pack his things. "…Right then. I probably won't see tomorrow, so take care." And with that the blond Genin left.

When he was sure that his friend was out of sight, Shikamaru turned to the Ichiraku's owner. "I have a favor to ask you," he said.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

It had been a full day since Jiraiya had left with his pupil and he was already close to the breaking point. They had traveled at a leisurely speed so far but that wasn't what irked him. Naruto had been, for a lack of a better word, quiet. Each time the Toad Sage looked back to his student he could see the boy thinking about something serious, but the fact that he didn't tell him about it – didn't even mention it out loud unnerved him. It just wasn't Naruto.

"So…" the man nearly jumped when Naruto finally spoke, "What are we going to do, Jiraiya?"

"I…" the Sannin blinked before whirling around, "did you just call me by my _name_?"

The blond huffed. "You're supposed to teach me so I guess I could be polite. But you only get one shot… don't blow it up."

Jiraiya frowned. He didn't like this new and serious Naruto he was stuck with. Since he had come back to Konoha it had been surprise after surprise with the brat. First he had pulled a decent Wind elemental jutsu out of nowhere, meaning he both a better grasp of the basics and he had perfected his chakra control to a point he could now focus on elemental composition… and master it too, judging by the potential of his new technique.

Thenhe had refused to train under him – _him_, the Great Jiraiya – only to accept without protest the same evening. Now it seemed the brat could even be polite when he needed to. _And why does it look like __**I'm**__ the one who's lucky to be teaching him?_ The powerful shinobi became all of a sudden more imposing. "Oi, I think you got our roles reversed: _I'm_ the great teacher," he said pointing at his all important self, "and _you _are the brat lucky enough to end up being my pupil, so calling me by my proper name is the _least_ you could do."

The blond shrugged. "Whatever. So, lesson plan?"

Naruto's indifference seemed to hit the sage pretty hard. "Aren't you at least curious about our current mission?" he nearly whined.

"_Your_ mission," corrected the teen "you brought me to train me – I ain't doing your work for you, you know."

Jiraiya kept his cool, but inwardly seethed. _That brat… I don't care what Kakashi says, he's nothing like Minato!_ He shook his head and sighed. "Well I'll tell you more about it once we arrive at the next village."

That being said they spent another while in silence until Naruto initiated another conversation. "Jiraiya, are you good with seals?"

That got a grin out of the man. "Um… pretty good if I say so myself. The only one that I know to be better than me was…" he deflated again, the memory still painful after more than a decade, "The Fourth."

Naruto seemed to ignore his pain in favor of showing the pervert his belly. "Do you know anything about this seal?" he asked, channeling chakra and showing the red markings on his stomach.

Jiraiya's tone became hesitant. "…A good bit." He hoped that this conversation wasn't heading towards where he was thinking it was heading.

"Enough to seal it completely?"

Apparently it did. "Are you out of your mind brat? Didn't I tell you already how stronger you get when you use the Nine Tails Chakra and—"

Naruto frowned. "I can't use the Nine Tails chakra."

The Toad Sage fixed the boy with a stare. "Can't or won't?"

Naruto flinched, but did not give up. "Can't" he pressed, "as strong as I am with the Nine Tails chakra it's useless if I end up killing my friends when I use it."

Ah… a valid point, especially so after facing someone like Gaara. He didn't know what happened for Naruto to want his tenant permanently disabled, but it must have been important. This wasn't the kind of request the man could simply refuse; he would have to reason Naruto out of it. "I understand you fears brat, but that's exactly why you should train with it. Maybe I could help to take control. You wouldn't have to worry about hurting me… I am a Kage level shinobi after all."

The infuriating brat didn't even think about the proposition. "No," he said bluntly, "I don't want to just be in control when I use it. I'm barely able to think straight when it happens. Whenever I use it only thing in my mind is to finish the fight as soon as possible, and that's on a good day."

"And more important than that," he added, "I'm stuck to taijutsu when I'm fighting with the Nine Tails chakra; if I lose control, I can't even use my clones… and that's even more dangerous because I'm not even Sasuke's level at taijutsu; my specialty has always been ninjutsu."

"All the more reason to learn to use it then," argued the Sannin, "Besides, that's exactly why you have those seals on you. The fox will never be able to fully take over with those. Think of it as a dangerous bloodline limit."

Naruto shook his head. "It's still too dangerous. I almost killed a friend in a serious situation, and recently it happened again." he stared at Jiraiya with a resolute expression. "There's no way I'm ever going to let something like that happen again, you know!"

Well that explained a whole lot of things. Maybe Naruto didn't have the mental strength to deal with the Kyubi's influence yet. He would have to plan some time to train Naruto's use of his Jinchuriki powers. In the mean time… the seal was perfect as is. The fact that the Nine Tails wasn't fully sealed was an upgrade compare to the seal the previous host had. The leaking chakra had done wonders for Naruto's stamina among things. Cutting the brat off the chakra now…

"Do you remember the first time we met kid?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto did. "That was when you helped me with chakra control."

The man nodded. "Do you know why your control sucked so much before?" he didn't let Naruto the time to think of an answer and went on. "Orochimaru did exactly what you want from me. The reason you had such crappy chakra control when we met was because of a seal preventing you from accessing the Nine Tails Chakra." _Well his was rough, so in theory his chakra __**might**__ not be as messed up but_… "That's not all, your healing powers and fast chakra recovery would be gone as well. Even your stamina could suffer from it."

He hoped that his arguments were good enough, but from what he could see, the only thing Naruto absorbed from his little rant was the possibility of sealing the Kyubi's chakra.

"You're not going to drop this matter, are you kid?" seeing the fire in his eyes, Jiraiya was forced to admit the kid was the kind to try on his own… definitely a bad idea. "…Fine," he said and Naruto's face lit up in a disgusting way. "But on one condition; no matter what the effects sealing the Nine Tails chakra will have on you, you're still going to train under me and learn that jutsu we were talking about. If you don't learn it by the time this mission's over, I'm taking it off, and you never bring up something stupid like that again. Deal?

For Naruto, that was a challenge if he ever saw one. "Deal."

"Annoying brat," Jiraiya muttered. The Sannin took a deep breath as the fingers of his right hand started to light one by one. "Be careful this is going to hurt – [Five Element Seal]!

The hit sent Naruto rolling on the floor, as expected. However what he didn't expect was the brat losing consciousness.

"Naruto!"

…Nor the seals on his stomach turning into an ominous shade of orange. The Situation could be only summarized in one word:

_Shit!_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

"So, like I was saying, the kid does such a good job telling it straight to the little kid, and kicking ass left and right, that they named the bridge after him," claimed the owner of Ichiraku's ramen.

Sitting on a stool not so far away, a disgruntled middle aged man snorted. "Yeah, like I'll believe that kid can do anything more than screw things up,"

"I figured you'd say something like that Shou, so I got myself the latest map of the Wave Country." The man took out a scroll and opened it on the counter. On it was an island map experienced folk could identify as Wave with a glance. On the western part of the map, was said bridge.

Shou gawked. "Well, I'll be damned! It says it right there 'The Great Naruto Bridge'!" The man shook his head. "I guess the d… brat isn't such a screw up after all." He said, trying to quickly make up for his slip up, but the slight to Teuchi's little friend hadn't gone unnoticed.

Teuchi stare hardened. "This is my last warning, Shou, you try to insult Naruto in front of me again and friend or not, I _will_ kick you out of my stand, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," muttered the man, "you're damn lucky you make the best ramen this side of the Fire Country, Teuchi."

"You know it Shou!" the cook gloated. And soon the famous ramen stand was again full of life and laughter.

"Still, where is the little twerp?" said a merchant, who this time disliked the blond for entirely different reason, "I haven't heard of him since the last Genin exams. Believe or not I kind miss his pranks. At least it made the town livelier now and then – when I wasn't the target anyway." The response was chuckles and muttered curses all around.

Teuchi always happy to boast about his clients – a good business practice really – smirked, anticipating the general reaction. "Last I've heard he left for a mission… with Jiraiya." There was a moment of silence. Then all of sudden everybody was talking.

"The brat left with Jiraya?"

"Jiraiya was here?"

"Has a new book come out already?"

"I swear, if he peeked on one of my daughters again…!"

"Wait, Jiraiya _knows_ the brat?"

The news made such a fuss that no one noticed the pair of travelers who left the stand without a word. In fact, not even one of the clients or the stand workers noticed that the two of them had not eaten, let alone shown their face.

This mysterious pair swiftly headed towards the main gates of the village, eager to go on with their mission.

"Damn, we missed him by a hair!" said the taller of the two, "Then again, this might not be so bad. It's not every day you get to go toe to toe with one of the legendary Sannin."

"And it is not today that we will either," his partner chided emotionlessly, "Naruto's protector is fearsome. It would take much more than the two of us take him down, and that's not the goal of our mission anyway."

The only clue of his partner's disapproval was a grunt, as they had reached the gates and didn't want to attract attention. But the quiet remained even after they left Konoha. It was only a good distance away from the hidden village than Kisame threw away his straw hat and asked his partner, "So what's the plan?"

"We find Naruto, we distract Jiraiya, and then we kidnap Naruto."

"Simple, easy to remember, and a three-step plan to boot," teased the missing nin, "You make it sound easy."

His partner did not rise to the bait. "We should hurry, or the tail will grow cold."

"I'm afraid we can't let you leave that easily," said a third voice. A moment later and the two S-Ranked criminals were surrounded by four of the Leaf's most powerful shinobi. Kakashi was in front of them, kunai already drawn, to their right and left were Kurenai and Asuma respectively, and closing the circle was none other than Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey.

Kakashi spoke again. "I know you haven't done anything wrong per say, but you must pardon my curiosity when a missing nin like Kisame of the Mist pays a visit to my village."

Kisame only chuckled. "And here I thought things would be boring," said the shark-looking man. In one movement, he drew his sword, still in warps. The four Jonin shifted into a more comfortable position, ready to attack. The only one who hadn't moved was Kisame's partner.

"It has been a while Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai," said the second Akatsuki member.

Asuma, the battle hardened veteran, shivered when he heard the greeting. "That voice…" he started. The raven-haired missing nin, took off his hat, if only to confirm Asuma's hunch. "Itachi Uchiha," breathed Kakashi. "Jiraiya was right; you did come back to the Fire Country."

Itachi barely raised an eyebrow. "It seems Jiraiya's spying prowess is still admirable."

The copy ninja revealed his Sharingan. This wasn't a fight where he could afford to hold back. Still, even if he knew the pair's goal, he had to keep up appearances.

"What are you after?" he asked them.

"The Fourth's Legacy," Itachi answered

This surprised the Hokage's son. "You're after Naruto? Why?"

"That is for me to know," the Uchiha said still without a battle stance, "In any case, our business in Konoha is over. Letting us be on our way would be the wisest course of action," he warned, but none of the Konoha shinobi parted ways. Seeing this he took out a kunai. "Very well, you are welcomed to try and stop us," suddenly the usual pattern of Itachi eyes technique changed, "but know that you are all powerless before the full power of the Sharingan."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto woke with no idea of where he was. As far as he could tell, he was inside of a building or a city – big change from the road he had traveled along Jiraiya. Furthermore the place seemed dark and humid. Looking downwards, Naruto could even see putrid smelling water coming up just above his ankles. But he didn't feel wet… odd. After a second look, Naruto felt like he had been here before.

Naruto shook his head; this wasn't the time to ponder on that. The important thing was to leave the place and find Jiraiya who was no doubt worrying about him. The blond took a look around. Well, the obvious first step was finding the exit.

Without more consideration, the Genin took off, and after a right turn, his feeling of Déjà vu intensified. _I think I might know where I am_, realized the blond. Somehow though, it did nothing to alleviate his worries. To his left was an open area. As he neared the area, he could make out huge iron pillars. Naruto thought about looking for a proper exit, but his feet had a will of their own and decided to guide their owner directly in front of what could only be described as a giant cage.

Again, the Jinchuriki tried to turn around, but he froze in his steps when he heard a menacing growl. He looked for the one responsible for this sound had found razor sharp looking teeth in what could only be considered an evil grin. Next he saw eyes that shone with hatred and malevolence. Finally, the beast stepped out of the shadows and made Naruto regret being here in the first place. For behind the bars that seemed for some reason here only for decoration, stood what had been Naruto's bane for most, if not all of his life.

The demonic fox called Nine Tails.

Naruto gulped.

And the creature looked happy to see him too.

"Hello brat."

_**Naruto is in trouble! The only question is: how much?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: Hey readers, what's up? Sorry for the late update. Anyway I did some spring time cleaning. First up, the Jutsu-pedia has been moved to my profile. **

**Second, some of you might have noticed, if you skipped ahead of this to read the R&R, that it isn't there. Now, before any bodily harm, note that there is one this chapter; just go in the review page; it's posted under the Anonymous name R&R as a Ch 36 review. I'm going trying to see if people mind or not. Depending on the response, I might put the past and futures one there too.**

**Rant/ Still, how come I'm the only one who gets called on this kind of things? I've seen other authors doing omakes and other stuff just as long if not more… people don't complain about those! ***_**Grumbles***_** /Rant**

**Next chapter will focus more on Shikamaru. See you around.**


	38. Counseling

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros**

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**38. The Fifth: Counseling**

_**Face to Face with the Fox! What has it in store for the blond hero?**_

Naruto felt odd. The last time he faced the Nine Tailed Fox its mere presence made him sick to the soul. That day he had no trouble at all believing the beast was in fact a demon. Now though… he felt light, like his tenant had no power over him. On the other side of the bars, the Kyubi was smiling like a predator about to seize its prey. The cocky Genin decided to return the grin.

"Hey stupid Fox! Mind telling me why I'm here this time?"

"I summoned you here wretched brat." The Fox growled "The connection is hindered – again. I do not know how I could be trapped into someone so unskilled that…"

"Actually, that was on purpose," The blond admitted proudly, "You said hindered though… damn!" He had hoped the seal would have been more powerful than that.

The demon stopped smiling. "_You_ did this?"

"Well not me exactly, but…" Naruto stopped to look at the Kyubi. "What's wrong? If I didn't know better, I'd say you're upset."

"I gave you my power, power _you_ demanded, and now you throw it away? You are trying to toy with someone far beyond your comprehension brat!" warned the Nine Tails, who suddenly became quite more ethereal – and ominous."

As scary as the Tailed Beast was, what it said simply incensed him. As if he had wanted to kill the person that brought him back to Konoha, as if he wasn't already taking Kyubi's power seriously enough that he didn't want anything to do with it. "Toying? How about trying to freaking _possess_ me, you Fox bastard!"

The Kyubi smirked. "Ah… so you blame me for your weak will… amusing."

Naruto gritted his teeth; he wouldn't rise to the bait. "Well I'm correcting that mistake you know," the blonde announced brazenly, "Your chakra is blocked off – so say goodbye stupid fox!"

The Fox looked at the boy he must have thought insignificant and laughed. Instead of anger, all that the Jinchuriki could feel was dread. Shouldn't the bastard be mad, swear his eternal vengeance or try to eat him… something? As the beast stopped, his eyes fell upon Naruto again, and the boy subconsciously stepped back; the eerie smile was back again.

"Foolish human. You will never get rid of me as long as I'm sealed within you. Our connection is hindered, not severed. You're merely delaying the inevitable for I _will_ be free. And when I am," another ominous chuckle, "I reserve a _special_ fate for you, _boy_. I will not let you die that easily."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try, you know!"

"You have an endless amount of guts brat, I will give you that." Then his grin suddenly grew larger. "So you truly want nothing to do with me, brat? That… can be arranged."

Naruto had no idea what the Fox meant by that, but next thing he knew, incredible pain coursed through his whole body. The fact that he felt it as he was unconscious, in the depths of his mindscape was telling. It felt like his blood stream was on fire. He wanted to curse the Fox, but the pain was such that he couldn't even think straight. The boy fell on one knee, and before he could wish for death to stop this internal inferno, the intense pain stopped, leaving a dull ache in its wake. Naruto was too drained by the whole ordeal to even feel relief. Instead he let sweet nothingness take hold of him and collapsed in the sewers of his mind.

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Shikamaru sat at his usual spot. He wasn't really to order or hungry at all really, he just needed a bit of time to think. For the last week or so he had been, for a lack of better words, busy. His schedule had been quite filled; between the usual chores, the training with his dad, his own training, the handing of Naruto's popularity problems and the fact that though they trained separately he still had to do missions with the rest of Team Ten, Shikamaru had to fight for his downtime.

Arguably he enjoyed mission time the most. The team took three missions, all C-ranked since Asuma wasn't with them for the moment; most of them easy jobs for the most part. The fact that he could spend time with his friends was a plus really. Even Ino lessened on her egging and nagging – that or he had finally learned to tune her out. Furthermore, this had given them ample time to come up with ideas on how to improve Naruto standing in the village… or at least find incentives to have them treat the Jinchuriki decently.

Speaking of which…

"Shikamaru."

The voice startled the Chunin enough that he lost his train of thought. And if that wasn't bad enough, the voice belonged to a girl other than Ino; that meant even _more_ trouble. He turned to face the newcomer. "Haruno," he said, identifying the kunoichi and returning the greeting at the same time.

Sakura averted her eyes, part in nervousness and part in shame. "You can call me Sakura, you know?" there was a heavy silence in the midst of the lively stand. "Can I buy you a bowl?" she added when she noticed he had yet to order.

Shikamaru gave her a look. "Sure, why not? I was just about to order anyway," he answered after a while. It's not like he had anything against her now that she had made up with Naruto. And if she hadn't… well, that was her problem really – as long as she stopped hitting his friend. He glanced at the kunoichi again before deciding that he'd rather eat his lunch alone. "What do you want?" he asked bluntly.

"Nothing!" she replied too quickly. Shikamaru didn't care either way and so returned to his thoughts, but before he could pinpoint the place he had been rudely interrupted, Sakura decided this was the right moment to blurt out, "I just figured since you're close with Naruto now we should get along."

He shrugged for sole answer. There was nothing wrong with that… except for the fact he'd rather stay clear of nagging troublesome women. "Actually… I thought you left with Naruto," She added.

"Har… Sakura, last time I checked, Naruto was on _your_ team, not mine. I don't even know why he left."

Sakura gawked. "He didn't tell you?" Shikamaru gave her look that told her he had already lost interest in the conversation. "I'm sorry, I just figured he would. I mean…"

This was getting nowhere, and he had the whole afternoon to go cloud watching for once. "What do you want, Sakura?"

She bit her lip; this couldn't be good. "I was wondering," she started hesitantly, "How come Naruto and you are so close now? I mean you weren't hanging out so much before but ever since that mission…"

Shikamaru muffled a groan. _Oh __**hell**__ no_. "Sakura, please tell me clearly that want tips to get along with Naruto so that I can flat out refuse."

"What? How could you think…?" the kunoichi stopped her act seeing Shikamaru was not impressed. "Oh and why not? I just don't get him anymore!" _Ah, there we go_, thought the Chunin. "At first I thought he was just an idiot who got lucky to be Genin, and couldn't get a clue. Then he's actually stronger than I thought, then he has that… secret of his, and then suddenly he's friends with everyone, even Ino! I mean she _picked his clothes_. And he… he's annoyed with me! Oh he still acts goofy and all that during missions, but…"

Shikamaru stayed quiet. He had spent enough time with Ino to know those type of girls needed to vent their frustrations from time to time. Now, why she decided he of all the shinobi in the village was the appropriate person to talk to was beyond even his comprehension; he did threaten her with permanent disability last he recalled. Then again this was a girl… you didn't try to understand girls… unless they were stuck in your team. So he did the most logical thing he could at the moment; he ate his ramen before it could get cold.

"…I don't know; it's not the same anymore. I don't like it she finished lamely."

Seeing Shikamaru enjoying his ramen, Sakura passed through different emotions. Finally she raised her hand to slap so common courtesy to her fellow Leaf shinobi, but thought better. So instead she laced her words in venom and asked, "Did you even hear a word of _anything_ I said?"

Shikamaru looked up from his food. "Huh? no sorry. I kind of lost you when you started to sound like Naruto was at fault or something."

Sakura lifted a finger to berate him, before flushing and collapsing on her stool. She seemed to realize her mistake at least. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little angry because I… we should be the people Naruto trusts."

"Funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing," the young genius replied scathingly. Sakura looked up and shivered; Shikamaru's eyes shone with the same freezing cold as last time. "You see I'm also angry at you, because you _should_ have been the people with Naruto's trust."

"I deserved that," she admitted, "And what's worse is I'm not even the worst offender. There are so many things I haven't noticed, so many things I should have… poor Naruto."

Shikamaru, who by then had finished his bowl, raised an eyebrow. "What about Naruto?"

"What do mean, 'what about Naruto'?" the scandalized kunoichi snapped, "Don't you know how hard his life was? How hard it still is?"

The Chunin sighed. "Let me rephrase that; what does Naruto think about this?"

Sakura blinked. "…What?"

"Better yet, now that you know what are you going to do about it?" he pressed.

"I… don't know yet."

'_Yet?' There's hope for her… yet_, thought Shikamaru. At least she intended to do something about it instead of just feeling sad for her teammate. He guessed a nudge in the right direction couldn't hurt.

"That's a start I guess, the next step would be to stop pitying him."

"I'm not—"

He didn't let her finish. "You see that look you had when you mentioned his problems? Did you ever look at Naruto like that?" the question startled her, but from her reaction Shikamaru could she did. "You feel sad for him, feel his pain? That's what pity does. You want know what else is does? Absolutely nothing, other than remind him his life sucks. Newsflash: he knows it better than anyone else. Naruto doesn't need people to feel sorry for him – especially you.

"Me? Why?"

Shikamaru slapped his forehead; that girl was as clueless as use making the situation even more troublesome. Insteadhe settled for, "Because you're supposed to be his friend; how would you feel if Sasuke just felt sorry for you, to know that he was pretending to be nice or even _like_ you out of pity?"

Sakura shuddered. "I think I get your point." The kunoichi looked like she had a lot of thinking about. Shikamaru simply hoped this conversation ended up helping Naruto in the end. Sakura got up and faced the Chunin. "Thanks for the advice Shikamaru," she said, smiling at him.

The young boy shrugged for sole answer, praying that after this he would be left alone. To his great satisfaction he was, as Sakura had left Ichiraku's. Now if only he could recall what he was thinking about… nope. Oh well, he still had other things in mind, like his father's training for example.

"Good afternoon Nara."

What,_ again?_ What were the odds of two people wanting to find him near Ichiraku's? Maybe it simply was one of those unlucky days… at any rate as soon as he dealt with the new annoyance he was going to his cloud watching spot to think in peace. And it was an annoyance indeed, for the newcomer was none other than Neji – complete with the customary glare from Tenten. Resigned to his fate, Shikamaru greeted the Hyuuga half-heartedly.

"How has Naruto been?" Neji asked while ordering a bowl of ramen.

"Dunno – haven't seen him in a while." Which was partly true; besides the evening before Naruto's mission with Jiraiya three days ago, he hadn't seen the blond that much, being both busy and in separate teams.

"Any news?"

"Besides the escort mission we've done?" Shikamaru asked back, "None." _And thankfully you still think nothing happened on that mission so you won't get nosy about it._

Neji nodded. "I see. Keep me informed."

Shikamaru twitched. Who died and made that stuck up his boss? The guy had absolutely no clue of what they were up against! The Chunin decided it was high time to have Neji, and to a lesser degree Tenten, off his back. "I won't," he said ignoring Neji's frown, "It's simple really; you want to help Naruto, right? Then _help_ him and leave me out of it."

The prodigy looked more upset than angry. "Are you saying I'm not doing anything to help?"

"I know that you're at least trying to do something, and you know that as well," Shikamaru assured him, "Care to guess who _doesn't_?" Neji became thoughtful. "You should at least talk to him, or kick his ass in a spar, I'm sure you'd both enjoy that," the young Nara added.

Neji spend a while staring at his ramen. "I'll reflect on your advice," he finally said. He made to leave but stopped. "Nara, I heard something interesting from my cousin a while ago. It seems you and Naruto have been a great help to both houses of the Hyuuga clan."

Shikamaru groaned. He knew that little secret would make its way to Hyuga prodigy eventually.

"I… never truly respected or acknowledged anyone for a long time… until I met Naruto. My fight with him has been truly… eye opening. He is special." He looked at Shikamaru. "Oddly enough, I get the same feeling from you Nara." That surprised the Chunin.

"Does that mean we're friends or something?" _Does that mean he's still gets to be nosy? _the Chunin dreaded.

Neji probably read his mind because he smirked. "Let's settle for 'or something' for the moment. I'll see you around Nara."

Oh, wasn't that great! First Sakura, now Neji; this only supported his decision to leave the ramen stand, less the next bothering fool professed his eternal love or something.

Now _that_ would be plain scary.

Shikamaru got up, but was stopped by Ayame this time. "You're not going to leave without even eating this, right?" she said, pointing at the bowl Neji had never touched.

He looked at her like she was an alien. "Who do I look like woman? _Naruto_?" snapped the young Nara, "I didn't even order this!"

Cue to the one-minute staring contest that Shikamaru lost – obviously. Try as he might, Ayame was still a troublesome woman; it was stupid to even think about winning against one of woman's best weapon. Still under her best death glare, the Chunin was forced to sit and take the food that had gone cold. And the damn woman had the gall to look smug about it too.

"Troublesome."

At least the food wasn't that bad. The boy slurped the noodles glaring at the Ichiraku waitress as best as he could. He was about half done when he felt watched. Right next to him, Tenten was openly staring at him, which did little to lift his mood.

"…What?" he snapped between two bites.

Tenten took her time to answer. "Are you and Neji… together?"

Shikamaru was so surprised and repulsed by the statement that he choked on his food. It took a lot of coughing, wheezing and soup juice to guide the food down its proper path. Even Tenten looked alarmed for a moment. "Damn it woman," he nearly shouted, "are you _trying_ to kill me?"

"Sorry." Shikmaru narrowed his eyes; she didn't look sorry at all. "Oh come on," she said to placate him, "I had to… I mean, he doesn't even spend that much time with Lee, and Lee's his teammate!" The boy said nothing; he instead focused on his noodles and subsequent exit. Unfortunately, the older kunoichi wasn't done with him. "Seriously though… what were you talking about?" she asked with perfectly feign innocence.

Ah… so it was about that. The Chunin smirked. "About the fact that I'm not paid to be a messenger – if you want to know something about someone, try to at least _ask_ him before snooping around." Tenten glared. He shrugged. "I'm serious; that's exactly what we were talking about… or at least that's what I told him anyway; the irony's not my fault."

Tenten attempts to find any kind of deceit on his face failed, and so she pouted, her endeavour ending so boringly. "And about who?" she asked finally.

Now that he couldn't tell her. "I'm pretty sure the person's called 'None of your business'," Tenten's frown returned. "Don't worry though; it's not a girl, so no need to get jealous over it." he joked.

The effect was not what he expected however, as Tenten froze for a split second before responding with a grin to say, "Ha! That would be the day!"

The slight hesitation didn't bode well… but for now this was only speculation. He wasn't Ino, so he didn't care about gossip, in fact his bowl of ramen was practically finished; the sooner he could drink the rest, the sooner he could leave.

As for Tenten the silence that followed made her apprehensive. "Hey, Nara, I'm serious; I only was curious about what you two were talking about." Shikamaru internally groaned. Why was she on the defensive then? She had basically admitted she was at least interested in him. The fact _he_ could see that was telling. "'Just aggravated that he is more with some nobody than with his teammate – no offense," she added.

"Well, this nobody beat the kunoichi that kicked your ass, so I'd be remiss to take offense – no offense," he retorted.

"Fine, you win this round Nara," The weapon user admitted. "Thanks anyway," she muttered as she left.

Just in time too; he had finished his ramen now all he had to do was…

"Woman – what is _this_?" he nearly snarled when he saw that his supposedly empty bowl was now filled to brim with food.

Ayame looked completely clueless. "Beef ramen – it's on me," she beamed.

"Look I just told you I'm not…" he stopped when he realized the true evil that was Ayame. "You're actually _enjoying this,_ aren't you?"

The waitress he had always pegged for a sweet normal harmless girl smiled evilly. "You have _no_ idea."

Shikamaru shuddered; he couldn't get out of here fast enough. "Ok…" he said, thinking of something, "here's the deal I'll stay put ten minutes – not one second more – if you take that bowl—" he hadn't finished his thought that the food had mysteriously disappeared. The boy grinned. _Checkmate_. "Thanks," he said, as he got up to leave.

Ayame looked scandalized. "Hey, we had a deal!"

"Nope," the Chunin answered smartly, "you never let me finish, right?" He started to walk away triumphantly when he nearly walked into Shino.

"Shikamaru. I was looking for you."

The young genius twitched. He twitched some more when he her giggling behind him. Turning around he mouthed a silent, "Damn you!" to the waitress before turning to face the new annoyance.

"I would like to thank you," Shino said, "one of your suggestions fit my style perfectly."

"It's nothing." He answered back, making for the streets, "Now if you'll ex—"

"What's 'Team Oblivion'?"

"Huh?" to Shikamaru's credit, his surprised expression was feigned perfectly, giving enough time to come up with a credible lie. "You mean the _Oblivion Gang_, right? That's a team of evil shinobi in the Super Ninja Mayhem series." Shikamaru was glad they had named their team after the famous movie; it made for the perfect cover. "'Didn't think you'd be the type to be interested in movies," he teased.

"…May I borrow it?"

Shikamaru blinked. _Is Shino trying to…? _"Sure. Naruto has it right now, but I'm sure I can rent a copy for you tomorrow."

"Very well," answered the insect user.

Anyway, now was the time to leave. He started to walk again only to hear a loud _thump_ next to them. He wasn't glad about the source of the sound, but couldn't help being worried about it.

"Hinata?" he hazarded. She looked completely out of it.

Next to him, Shino _shivered_. "Well, I'm going," he suddenly announced.

Shikamaru almost let him leave his sight before reacting. "Wait – aren't you worried about your teammate?"

"She'll be fine," he answered back. There was a hint of apprehension in his voice.

Before Shikamaru could ask anything else, Shino had disappeared. Well if Hinata's _teammate_ didn't want to do anything with her, he sure as hell didn't even want to know what was up with her. Teuchi's daughter had other ideas though.

"You're not seriously going to leave her like this, right?" she accused him, but even with her, he could detect a hint of worry in her voice.

"You…! Her teammate said she was fine! I'm leaving, you troublesome woman!"

"Shikamaru."

Said boy shivered. It definitely sounded like the Hyuuga heiress, but at the same time it was totally different. The Chunin started to understand why Shino was so hasty to leave. He felt like this Hinata was… dangerous. If that wasn't scary, the fact her murderous gaze was locked on him certainly was. Ayame looked down right scared. Yeah, he definitely wasn't staying.

"Look Hinata," he started, "It's been a long day…"

"Shikamaru, sit down."

She wasn't asking, and he had feeling a refusal would the last thing he'd ever do, so Shikamaru sat. It definitely was one of _those_ days. He buried his head into his arms trying to find out what kind of conspiracy he was the victim of now, cursing Naruto in the mean time; it was his fault this whole thing happened. And speaking of the super idiot… three guesses what Hinata's woes were about. He mentally prepared for trouble

"How can I help you," the Chunin muttered.

The kunoichi sighed. "Naruto… is thick, isn't he?"

Shikamaru raised his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow. He might be sealing his death with that one, but he was a guy, and that line was practically served on a silver plate. "I wouldn't know," he answered, stifling a snort. "I never saw him naked after all."

It took a few seconds, but when Hinata understood the double entendre she transformed from moody with a tinge of killing intent, to her shy and spluttering self. "WHAT? I didn't mean he was thick! I mean, yes he's thick," Shikamaru's eyebrow raised higher, "I mean, not like that, I meant his head, not…" at this she blushed hard.

Shikamaru chuckled now that his life was out of imminent danger. "You're definitely a lost cause, Hinata. Kiba must be very annoyed; two girls on his team and both are taken."

The girl froze. "Was I that obvious?" she whispered.

"Only if you aren't called Naruto Uzumaki." And from what she was saying, that was the whole problem to begin with. _Then again… I guess love __**is**__ blind only when it's about yourself judging by the fact Sakura __**still**__ doesn't get it._ "Oh and the stalking," he added for good humor, "definitely the stalking."

At first she blushed, but realizing he was only teasing, Hinata smiled coyly instead. "What do I do now, though?"

Shikamaru gawked. "Why the hell are you asking me this for?" This startled Hinata, and earned him a glare from Ayame, which caught his attention. "And why the hell are you glaring at me?" he said to her, "Do I look like a shrink? Do I look like a counsellor?"

"Sorry Shikamaru," Hinata said, "I just thought, since you're his best friend…"

Wait, he was? Guess Sasuke didn't count anymore… Damn! "Fine," Shikamaru huffed, "but you probably won't like it." He gathered his thoughts before saying, "For once, you should take a page of the Sasuke's fan club."

Hinata's eyes became saucers, while Ayame laughed herself silly; even she had heard about the hysterical girls. "You're obviously more passionate than any of them considering your… hobbies," Hinata turned crimson, "the difference between you and them is they were bold and not afraid to confront their target. Naruto won't get it until you smack him upside the head with the fact… and then some."

The Chunin was right about the reception of his advice, judging from the near depressed expression on the Hyuuga's face, still she thanked him. Shikamaru took the opportunity to finally vacate the premises. As his luck would have it, his cloud watching time had been nearly cut in half. From his disastrous diner he learned one thing; on one of _those_ days, stay away from Ichiraku's. Speaking of which; he'd have to plot his revenge against Ayame.

He wasn't even halfway to his gazing spot when a Jonin intercepted him; he had to report for a mission. He glared at the messenger before heading to the Hokage's tower. Whatever he got this time he at least hoped it would take too long. He immediately noticed his teammates weren't at the mission desk waiting for him. Instead a familiar face greeted him.

"Genta," he greeted politely.

"It's been a while Nara," The politician returned. "Today you'll receive a B-ranked mission; you are to find Jiraiya and give him this scroll."

The Chunin took the missive, but wasn't ready to accept the mission so easily. "If I recall correctly, Kakashi received a similar mission and it was S-ranked. In fact, why not send him on this mission? He seems more suited for this kind of job."

"Different circumstances Nara. The danger of the mission was greater since the Sannin was not within the Fire Country. As for Hatake I'm afraid he is currently… is something the matter Nara."

Shikamaru blinked, he had been looking at the billboard next to the desk. Smaller villages couldn't always afford professional mercenaries like shinobi to do the job, so they also relied on good old wanted posters. One of the faces on these posters…

He shook his head; hopefully this was a coincidence that wouldn't repeat itself. "I apologize… you were saying Kakashi was…?"

"…Indisposed – along with three other Jonin."

Well that certainly couldn't be good. This could be the reason they were attempting to contact Jiraiya in the first place. Of course, it wasn't his place to guess, so he didn't. "Am I going alone?" he asked instead.

"At first yes; backup will be sent to catch up with you if haven't made contact with the target by the first town."

_So I'm alone then… great._

"You should depart as soon as possible Nara." declared the smug Genta. He then added, "Speed is of essence here after all."

"Of course," the Chunin drawled. "Between us though, since we both know better, what's the trap this time?"

He was rewarded with a small smile. "Don't die Nara." the boy muttered his famous catchphrase and turned to exit only to be called back. "My proposition still stands, Nara," The man said. This time it was his turn to smile, and he left.

Well, soon as possible probably meant before the gates closed today so he had two hours. It was enough time to head home and get ready, relay some last minute instructions to Choji and Ino before leaving. And he'd have to hurry too…

Troublesome.

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Jiraiya knew teaching Naruto would be a challenge. He had already taught the boy and found him… slow to say the least. Now however the boy turned to be the only student to make him want pull his hair out.

He knew Naruto could tank a good amount of pain, and thanks to the Kyubi his resilience was near limitless. So to see him scream in agony from beyond consciousness had him regretting ever agreeing with the boy's demand. He recalled Minato's kid being sealed once before… had it been this bad? He certainly hoped so.

He had thought his condition would at least stabilize after a while, but instead something unusual happened; Naruto suffered from symptoms of severe chakra exhaustion. Nothing Jiraiya couldn't treat with soldier pills, or maybe one of the few remaining chakra pills he had gotten from Tsunade ages ago, but with the reason behind the lack of chakra being at best due to Kyubi, at worst totally unknown, Jiraiya didn't want to take chances.

They would backtrack to Otafuku Town, as it was the nearest and most decent place. Naruto would safely rest there.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

When Shikamaru arrived in Otafuku Town, he decided to crash at the nearest inn; it wasn't as if he was in any hurry to sleep outdoors. He might ask about Jiraiya and Naruto around town, but he wouldn't get his hopes up; at the slowest pace, the two shinobi would be halfway to the next town by now. Keeping that in mind the boy went to sleep hoping against all odds they weren't in any hurry.

The next day held interesting news. A search through the various inn and hotels told him the people he was looking for had indeed rent a room at 'The Night Inn'. The interesting part was that the man and child in question had come back and were currently lodging at the same room. Well if that didn't make things ridiculously easy…

Shikamaru asked for the room number and headed for the third floor. He knocked, but no one answered. Oh well… he'd just stick around until they came back, with that decided he headed back down to rent a room next to Jiraiya's; might as well wait in comfort. He went to his room, picked a scroll on chakra manipulation to peruse, and waited.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto woke up to the uncomfortable sensation of cold and humidity. His eyes wondered aimlessly around him until they fell onto a gigantic eye. That was all the blond needed to be completely awake and even jump a full meter back. Naruto took deep breaths to calm his heart gone overdrive, while the Kyubi was chuckling behind his bars.

"Damn it! You scared me, you bastard!" looking around, his worry temporally took over. "I'm still here… What the hell did you do?"

The Fox's sarcastic smile felt like a giant sneer. "I took back my chakra; I might have been a tad… forceful about it." The Tailed Beast chuckled, impervious to Naruto's leer, "Let's see you try to succeed without me; I look forward to the day you come back to beg for my help, whelp."

Naruto remained thoughtful, annoying his tenant.

"Our business is done; get out of my sight, brat."

"Thank you." That answer threw the Fox for a loop, giving ample time for Naruto to explain himself. "You did exactly what I wanted you to do, though you were a bastard about it. You also saved my life a couple of times."

As much as Naruto disliked the Kyubi, he had to admit that some good _did_ come out of it. Their very natures and history made it clear they wouldn't be friends any time soon, but he had to give credit where credit was due. He had to… respect the Kyubi. Ugh, that thought left a bad taste in the back of his mind. Anyway, that meant he had to behave like a reasonable host.

"Is there… a good way of freeing you?" he asked.

The Kyubi was even more surprised. But after a beat it answered. "There is one thing you could do; remove that seal on the door."

Naruto blinked. "Just that?"

"Yes," The Fox answered, its head now very close to Naruto

Naruto approached the gate. "Well I don't see why—"

His hand was nearly touching the seal when he jumped inside the cage, gathered a Corkscrew Hurricane in his right hand, and slammed it right between the Demon Fox's eyes, not even surprised by the sheer speed at which he had created the technique. The Demon was so shocked he had only reacted by howling in pain; giving the blond all the time he needed to exit the prison.

"Of course not you retard!" yelled the blond, "I'm not stupid! I'd die, you know!"

The sheer amount of Killer intent and chakra was enough to send him crashing against the nearest wall.

"YOU CURSED WRETCH!" roared the demon.

Naruto snickered despite the crushing pressure. "Totally worth it," he uttered, painfully getting up. "…I meant without me _dying_ you stupid fox," he chided.

The Fox was still trying to get one of his paws on the boy that dared strike him. "You come over here and kill me," it snarled.

Yeah… that wasn't going to happen anytime soon; his current strongest technique didn't even leave a dent on the thing. _I guess you're stuck here then,_ he thought. Being stuck in a place like this would definitely suck, realised Naruto. He'd go mad too if it was him; No wonder the Nine Tails tried every trick in the book to escape – short of killing himself, of course.

"Do you like sewers?" suddenly asked Naruto, his mind still on Kyubi's predicament.

The changed of topic somewhat mollified the Fox, who rolled his eyes at the question. "This is your mindscape; _you_ did this."

"I did? Huh I wonder why," the Genin mused. He willed, wished, nearly ordered a change of scenery, but nothing happened. He shrugged. "Well sorry, I can't change it." He then glanced at the cage. _I wonder…_

The Next instant, all of the water inside of the cage had vanished, Naruto gestured victoriously while the tenant marvelled at the change… no matter how small it was. At least it proved one thing; Naruto could control the contents of the Kyubi's cage. Why the same wasn't so for the rest of his mind troubled him, but he'd tackle that situation at a later date. For now, he had a bit of leverage on the Nine Tails.

"Well, what do you know? I can mold your prison anyway I like," Naruto said with a grin.

The Fox grew apprehensive and asked, "Where are you going with this brat?"

"Let's make a deal; I won't turn stay into a living hell…"

"I'd like to see you try brat!"

Naruto snapped his fingers, and suddenly the cage shrunk to a painfully small volume, crushing the Fox that howled in fury. He snapped his fingers again and now the demon fox was struggling against a floor that had become quicksand. The last change was an indestructible radio played the worst tune he could think of: _The Song that Doesn't End_. He let that play at full volume.

"I yield, I yield!" the Kyubi yelled not even five minutes after the last form of torture, "You proved your point; now stop that! My ears are starting to bleed!"

Naruto shrugged, and the radio disappeared, taking with it that infernal song. Now that he had the Kyubi's attention, what was he going to ask from it? He was already adamant about the Tailed Beast's power. With that out of the way, there wasn't much he could want from it now, was it? What would Shikamaru ask for? Surely something intelligent such as…

"Information!" He said, snapping his fingers.

The Fox looked…odd. "…Information? …From me?"

"Why not?" Naruto reasoned, "I heard you existed even before Konoha was created; I bet you know a whole lot of stuff."

The blond was about to list other reasons for his idea but was cut short by the loud laugh of the Nine Tails. "It seems I underestimated you," the Fox full mirth admitted.

"What does that mean?" the blond inquired vainly. Seeing the Fox wouldn't answer him, he shrugged. "Okay then, first question; what are you?"

"…The Kyubi." Said Kyubi answered derisively.

"Bzzt! Wrong answer." To punctuate his comment, a bolt of lightning struck the Kyubi's rear. The Beat yelped before glaring at Naruto. The boy was unfazed. "This is a test, to see if the deal is worth anything," he reminded it, "I don't have to do this, you know? I just felt I owed you one for the stuff you did before." a moment of silence, "Let's try again, what are you?"

"I am…" Here the Kyubi paused, no doubt thinking about Naruto's proposition more than about the question itself. Finally, the Nine Tails answered. "I am a manifestation of chakra given a consciousness."

_Now we're talking!_ "Given, as in made?" pressed Naruto. "By who?"

"The Sage of Six Paths."

"Okay…" No clue who that was… maybe Jiraiya or Shikamaru would know. "Does that mean you have a name, then?"

The Kyubi's mood darkened considerably. "None of your business brat," it growled.

_Touchy_. "What do you want me to call you, then?"

This startled the Fox who looked at the Genin strangely. "…Nine Tails is fine, brat," he relented.

"Is there a way to get you out of me without killing me?"

The Fox didn't think twice about the answer. "Either you'll die the instant I'm free or shortly after. For you, I'd bet on the shortly after. It would possible to heal you then, but it would take a miracle worker to do so."

"If I ever found a way to get you out without killing myself… what would you do?"

Suddenly there was a vast amount of Killing Intent was the Kyubi answered, "…There is… a certain someone I'd devour."

Naruto shuddered. _…Sasuke much?_ "And then…?"

"Hunt, eat roam…"

"…Huh." That one had definitely stumped Naruto. He would have thought his home would have been the next logical step to complete its revenge.

The Kyubi shrugged in return. "Do you care enough for an anthill on a side of the road to go out of your way and destroy it?" Naruto blinked, and then shook his head. "Konoha is the anthill," The Tailed Beast added.

Naruto never thought of it like that; a tad humiliating, but not worrying – not that much anyway. "OK, that's good enough. You at least answered truthfully to most of my answers. Naruto focused on what he wanted. "Well, got to go now. Hope you like your present."

With that Naruto snapped his fingers and disappeared under the threats of his tenant.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

The sound of a door knock startled Shikamaru out of his reading, for the simple reason that it came from the room belonging to Naruto and Jiraiya. He was about to leave his room to see who it was when a voice chilled him in his tracks.

"Kisame."

The next moment, there was a loud crash; the door to Naruto's room had been busted open. Shikamaru cloaked himself in his shadow and strained his hearing in order to plan accordingly.

"Well, isn't he a heavy sleeper?" muttered the swordsman.

"Wait Kisame," said Itachi, "That's not our target."

"You sure? Well shit; tricked again! Those Leaf bastards are starting to become a pain in the ass."

The Uchiha shrugged. "Let's go."

Shikamaru let out a breath. Not only he was safe, but his friend was too. Now all he had to do was wait for the two of them to leav—

"Itachi! I'm going to kill you!"

Shikamaru recognized the voice. The only good thing about the current situation was He didn't have to hide behind his shadow skill anymore – also the chirping sound of Sasuke's Chidori would cover the sounds of his head banging against the wall.

Shikamaru wasted no time. He knew the next battle, along with his window of opportunity to save the younger Uchiha from himself, would a matter of instants. He took out various tags and grenades, started his shadow needle technique and waited for Sasuke's advance. He didn't have to wait long; two seconds later and the revenge driven sharingan user let out a war cry.

"[Chidori!]"

He timed his entrance right after Sasuke passed his door, sending his shadows against Kisame. The blue-faced shinobi didn't even bat an eye as he shaved the technique into nothingness. Shikamaru smiled; the shadow had carried some explosive tags that would detonate any moment now. And detonate it did; as he ran towards Itachi, the swordsman lunged as well, only to be blasted through a door and even the window by the sound of things. That was fortunate; it gave him a bit more time to save the idiot.

"Nara."

The double exclamation came from the two brothers. By the look of things, the battle – if you could call it that – was already over. Next to them was a brand new window, a testimony to Sasuke's power. As for Sasuke himself, his face was a mess and he was clutching his left ribs with his right hand – the wrist was broken by the looks of it. How Itachi dealt that much damage in the time he took him to simply get there… The most important part was his appearance and the explosion were enough to stop Itachi from doing something more permanent.

"Don't you 'Nara' me you troublesome bastards!" the Chunin ranted. "You're looking for Naruto by the look of things, and he's obviously obsessed with you, so how come _I_ get caught in this crap? …_Again_?"

Sasuke looked murderous in spite of his injuries, Itachi… did he just see his lips twitch? The troublesome bastard was finding this funny! Whatever, he still had to secure Sasuke anyway.

The shadow user threw two grenades as he got closer. The Uchiha threw two kunai and closed his eyes in order to block the light he knew was coming. He however didn't know about Shikamaru's noise grenades, so receive the full effect of the deafening bomb. A moment later Shikamaru had finally secured the troublesome Uchiha and was inching towards the opposite direction, only to see Kisame hop back into action; a chilling grin on his shark face.

"Well played, little bastard, but now it's time to die."

Next to his partner, Itachi had recovered and both were now on the offensive. Interestingly enough, Kisame's speed was at least equal to that of his partner, so the Chunin knew for certain he had no way of really escaping two S-class shinobi. But Shikamaru had a plan – or at least a hunch. His Mind flicker activated, he waited for the two of them to be within striking distance to use his last resort jutsu – a Body Switch technique.

A moment later Shikamaru and Sasuke were in Naruto's room. The Chunin didn't look back to see the surprised rogue nin faces as they were hitting a fake Naruto, and didn't wait for whatever nasty surprise said fake hopefully held; he took the wounded Uchiha he jumped out the window.

A fall from the third floor certainly didn't help Sasuke's injuries, but from the eerie light coming from the battle zone, there were probably better here. He took his charge amidst the dumbfounded faces of the nearby civilians and headed for the nearest alley.

"Let me go you coward! Itachi is still back there! I must kill him, I must…"

"Get yourself in your hospital you suicidal idiot!" snapped the Chunin, "You're in no condition to fight anybody, let alone kill them. I'll give you a soldier pill and a painkiller, but only to get the hell out of here. Because those two back there will be after us in a heartbeat and I _don't_ want to be found by pissed off missing nin. Unless you're thinking we can take on _two_ S-class shinobi by ourselves?"

Sasuke could barely walk by himself as it were, and Itachi had clearly demonstrated the he was in a different league, so he had no choice but to accept. The two moved swiftly and stealthily through the town, which wasn't hard considering there were festivities today. The hospital was not an option for obvious reasons, so Shikamaru decided to lose themselves in the crowd and hide in any place they could.

"Damn," muttered the Chunin as he reached another empty alley, "I hope they really aren't going after us." Sasuke was looking worse by the minute; they couldn't go on much longer.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about those two for a while," said a familiar voice that for once Shikamaru was glad to hear. "Fancing meeting brats," declared the legendary Jiraiya, "let me take you to my place."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto woke up.

The blond yawned loudly, scratched his head, wondering where he was. At least he was certain he wasn't in his mindscape anymore; they didn't have beds there. He looked at the door and – lo and behold – It opened. In came his current best friend.

"Shikamaru! What are you doing here?"

Naruto was glad to see a friendly face; it meant this place was safe… wherever that was. Plus, it was Shikamaru! He was so glad he totally missed Chunin's twitch.

"I'm so glad you're here, you know! I was starting to think that whole mission thing was going to bore me to death."

Without a word of greeting, Shikamaru went straight to his friend and smacked him behind the head. Naruto rubbed the sore part furiously while glaring at the back of his retreating friend.

"What the hell was that for!" he yelled after him.

Shikamaru said, "This is all your fault!" and slammed the door behind him.

What the hell was his problem!

_**Team Oblivion is back! But what about the extra baggage?**_

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**A/N: Hey! What's up everybody! As you know the summer is usually my slow period of the year, so expect infrequent updates… or not; I dunno yet, we'll see how it goes.**

**Next chapter, you'll get a glimpse of Shikamaru's training. Also… We'll be meeting some familiar faces next chapter… care to guess who?**

**Lastly, don't forget about the R&R! It's up in the Ch 37 review section. Here's a snippet.**

**Rev: So… what's the deal with Naruto and the Kyubi?  
SShun:** The big question hey? Some think it's a bad thing because you're running away from the problem in a way.  
**Naru:** Hey that's not true, you know! I wanted the fox sealed because so far it almost did the opposite.  
**Shika: **Then again, you did become a total BAMF in canon due to the Kyubi.  
**Naru:** Well… I… that's true, I guess.  
**SShun:** On the flip side, some are intrigued, and others go as far as congratulate you for the bold move.  
**Naru:** Ha! Proves I'm right, you know! Though the Fox bastard keeps acting like I'm missing something… *_mumbles_*  
**Shika: **So… mixed reception, eh?  
**SShun:** Yup. To all I can only say two things. 1: I don't like how the whole Kurama thing was handled in canon – felt rushed. 2: Like a reviewer said, what Naruto did has its consequences, good and bad. What happens from that is up to Naruto… and me of course.


	39. Burdens

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros**

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**39. The Fifth: Burdens**

_**Sasuke has joined the party! How will our heroes react?**_

Shikamaru had no idea where they were exactly, but it had been three days since they escaped the Akatsuki. They were currently in some sort of rundown house a little way off Otafuku city and during that time, Sasuke recovered enough to move around. Jiraiya hadn't told him much about Naruto's condition. In fact, they hadn't spoken for the whole three days; the Sannin simply dropped them here and left to do 'research' he called it, asking him to take care of the convalescent which pretty much meant Sasuke as Naruto was unconscious that whole time.

He didn't mind much, since he pretty much had three days off. Problem was he couldn't go outside, so not a bit of cloud watching: _very_ troublesome. So imagine his feelings when, after all his misadventures and nearly a week without cloud watching, he checks on Naruto only to see him awake and acting bored of all things. He couldn't say he was justified in hitting the blond, but damn if that didn't help release all of his pent up tension and frustration. Did Sakura have his string of misfortunes? Was that why she hit Naruto so much? He doubted it, but it would explain a lot.

The Chunin sighed as he left Naruto's room. He was wondering what to do now that both patients were awake; contrarily to him, they weren't the type that enjoyed sitting around to do nothing. As if to answer his question, Jiraiya popped his head through the window of his room right as he settled on his bed. Needless to say Shikamaru was far from amused.

The Chunin made sure his heart had restarted before he grumbled about the use of doors. The two then exited his room and headed for Naruto's that was right across the hallway. While Shikamaru updated Jiraiya's about the two Genin, something else came to his mind.

"What about Itachi and Kisame? You never told us what happened to them."

Jiraiya smiled. "Oh, that… Well, their first mistake was to break the door to Naruto's room; I tagged the placed so I'd be alerted in case of a break in," his smile turned feral, "but to think they'd actually go and attack my decoy… Itachi must be getting sloppy… or arrogant," he shook his head, "No matter, that decoy held some special type of traps… of the lethal kind, of course. Those distractions gave me enough time to arrive and trap them into a sealed room, but they escaped."

Shikamaru noted Jiraiya's face darkening for a moment; the rogue nin's escape probably irked the older shinobi. But for the most part, Jiraiya had just saved him and Sasuke; there was no way he'd have been able to escape if not for that trap. So he thanked the legendary shinobi. The man gave a nod, but stopped in front of Naruto's room.

"So, mind telling me why you're here?" Jiraiya asked nonchalantly.

For sole answer Shikamaru handed the missive over to him, and with that: his mission was over. He wondered what waited for him when he dragged the Uchiha back to Konoha. As he turned around to leave, he heard Jiraiya hum sullenly.

"Apparently four of the top Konoha Jonin are in the hospital." Jiraiya answered to a question the Chunin had no intention to ask in the first place, "And Asuma is one of them," he added after a pause.

Shikamaru stopped. His mind was working overtime. Asuma was hurt? When? How? Why hadn't Genta mentioned this? Wait! Was this why the man had sent him away? But… Why? It didn't make any sense whatsoever. There was one thing he did realize though; Jiraiya had mentioned Asuma rather offhandedly. He didn't think the sannin would have taken that tone had is mentor been in dire need. The question to ask was then…

"So why are telling me this?" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.

Jiraiya scratched his chin. "Ah well… since your Team leader is officially out of commission, how about you stick with us for a while?" he asked with a grin.

"_What?_" That proposition had the foul stench of trouble all over it.

The man took his kabuki pose. "I'm saying I'm giving you the immense privilege to study under the Legendary Toad Sage Jiraiya."

There was a moment of silence.

"No thanks," deadpanned the Chunin.

"_Excuse me?_" Jiraiya asked, his eyes growing wide, and wondering if he was losing his edge.

"What_?_" Sasuke choked, "Are you out of your mind!"

The young Nara sighed. By their looks, they acted like he had just attacked the Daimyo. And what the heck was Sasuke doing here in the first place? Had the other boy simply decided by his right as an Uchiha to intrude on the conversation? And here he thought Naruto had an ego…

Shikamaru snorted. "You heard me; I said no. I'm guessing you received the order to come back to Konoha so you want me to tag along to pretend you never got the scroll," he surmised, looking pointedly at Jiraiya, "Nice plan, but I'm not interested."

Jiraiya didn't even look guilty about it, simply curious. "Why?"

"I'll give you one," Shikamaru said, before looking straight at Sasuke. "Tell me Uchiha, I had a mission – mission I just fulfilled – why are _you_ here?"

The first thing coming out of his mouth was probably a smartass comment, because one glare from the Sannin and Sasuke stopped. He glared in Shikamaru's direction once more before stating: "I heard Itachi was the one who put Kakashi in the hospital. I also heard he was heading here."

And suddenly everything made sense: Genta. _Devious bastard!_ As for Jiraiya, he slapped his forehead. "And there's my reason." his explanation clear enough, Shikamaru was ready to leave. "We're leaving Uchiha," he said to the Sharingan user.

Sasuke frowned. "No."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "_No?_"

"Itachi is after Naruto; I heard you say it." _Yeah, probably shouldn't mentioned that_, reflected the Chunin. Sasuke went on. "This is my chance to finally kill him! And Jiraiya is offering training; I'd be a fool not to accept."

Trust the Uchiha to skip the painfully troublesome details chose the most downright suicidal path. Shikamaru yawned; dealing idiots was tiresome. "I'm not asking you, Uchiha," he explained, "in case you forgot I'm a Chunin. And coming with me is the smartest thing you'd be doing since I met you." Sasuke glared. "You don't have any idea in what trouble you just put yourself into, do you? Here's the deal; by now you probably have hunter nin sent after you." And finally Sasuke got it, judging by his shocked expression. "They won't bother asking why you left. In fact if you weren't an Uchiha, I'm pretty sure they'd kill you on sight. Instead they'll drag you back to Konoha and you'll be on a leash so tight you won't even be able to pee by yourself.

Jiraiya whistled. "Wow, you don't mince your words twerp; I like that. He's right princess; you'd better head home right now," he told Sasuke.

Shikamaru snorted. "Now that it's two against… nothing; you never had a say in this anyway, let's get out of here."

"What do you mean get out of here!" yelled Naruto, finally making his entrance, "You just got here! …Wherever this is. Where are we Jiraiya?"

Shikamaru cut off Jiraiya before he uttered a word. "Don't care; _leaving_!" However, he hadn't made two steps that he found himself in a headlock

"Like hell you are! You come here just to hit me without a damn reason and you just expect to _leave_?"

"Stop chocking me, you idiot!" Shikamaru spluttered, "I can't stay; someone has to make sure Uchiha here actually makes it back to Konoha with a suitable excuse."

Naruto stopped and seeing that Sasuke was here, he glared and nearly snarled, "What are _you_ doing here?"

If Sasuke was taken aback, he didn't show it. "Nice greeting there, dobe; as your teammate I really feel welcome."

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to," he replied coolly, "Like I was saying, what are you doing here?"

"I was after Itachi…"

Naruto didn't wait for his teammate to finish and turned to Shikamaru. "Isn't that the bastard that almost killed you?" Shikamaru nodded. He looked at Sasuke in disbelief. "I… I can't believe I actually get to say this but…" he hesitated, almost afraid to say the next words. "Sasuke, you're an idiot!"

That remark seemed to hit a soft spot because the Uchiha's anger flared. "Screw you Naruto! You have no idea what he did to me, what he put me through! I…"

The rest of his monologue was interrupted by a burst of laughter. Shikamaru wiped a tear from his eye and tried to control his mirth as everyone was starting to look at him funny. "Oh sorry, didn't want to ruin the mood but that was too much. Naruto… calling someone an idiot… and being _right_!" he couldn't go further as he started laughing again, and this time joined by the Sannin himself.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, wondering who was being laughed at. Finally the Uchiha's ego and paranoia won and he asked with barely restrained fury, "Are you mocking me Nara?"

By then the young Nara had finally gotten his amusement under control. "So what if I am?" he asked smartly, "What are you going to do? Report me for hurting your pride?"

Sasuke glared some more, before he simply shrugged and let out his trademarked "Hn" "Let's just go." He said, and suddenly he was back to his arrogant self. "But if you think I'm doing this because of a coward like you, I got news for you, dead last."

Shikamaru barely registered the insult; to him to most important fact was they were finally leaving. Of course, Naruto had other ideas; his friend looked ready to commit murder. In that sense he was kind of like Choji; his best friend would have gone straight to the pummeling though.

Sasuke, who had been itching to unwind, welcomed the idea of a fight. "Something wrong dobe? Want to defend you pathetic friend? I could use the warm-up," he said with a smirk.

The blond didn't need to be told twice. He immediately got ready to beat the tar out of Sasuke with his clones… only instead of the distinct shout of "[Shadow Clone Technique]!" there was a startling yelp of pain.

"Ouch! What the hell?"

Sasuke looked disappointed. "If you weren't ready to fight you should just have said so dobe," he then turned to Shikamaru, "Let's just…"

But he stopped; Shikamaru was already near Naruto, surprising Sasuke with his speed. The Chunin kneeled next to his friend and shook his head. Nothing normal could happen around Naruto; it was almost like he was the main character of a movie or something.

"Naruto, what have you done this time?"

"Oh yeah, I meant to tell you about that, you know. I got Jiraiya to seal my little problem." That explained how the jutsu failed, but not the pain. Shikamaru knew better, so he took a page out of Shino's book and stared; sure enough Naruto laughed nervously. "I might've angered the Kyubi into removing all of his Chakra from me?"

"You forgot to say that it was extremely stupid of you to do that, brat," muttered Jiraiya. From his tone, Shikamaru doubted any good news would come out of it. "Your chakra coils are probably burned. That would have easily killed you if the Kyubi wanted," he explained. "Because of that, you'll feel pain anytime you gather chakra."

The news worried Naruto. "I'm not gonna be like that forever, am I?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "If it's what I think, you should fine; the burns should heal in a month or so," Naruto looked even more troubled. "Well, there's another option; coat the coils in chakra." Now Naruto paled considerably, but from the looks of things Jiraiya wasn't going to comfort him; he had brought on himself after all. "A day or so and the pain should be gone, but that won't repair the coils. Depending on the severity of the burns you might not be able to store half your usual amount, counting out the fact that your stamina will recuperate much slowly. Also I don't think I need to tell you this, but your super healing powers are probably gone.

Shikamaru whistled. He didn't like the Fox much and was glad Naruto got rid of it – to an extent – but he was starting to wonder if it had been worth it after all. "Jeez, any _good_ news?"

The sage scratched his chin. "Well, there's a chance your chakra control might get better, but we'll see about that later."

As worried as he was, the Chunin knew there was nothing he could do for his friend. Besides he had more pressing matters to tend to. So he gave Jiraiya and Naruto a nod, got up and headed towards the exit. Passing Sasuke he said, "We're leaving Uchiha."

Sasuke snorted, but started to follow anyway. He didn't know what was wrong with Naruto, but since Shikamaru was leaving it couldn't be that bad. "I'll see you around dobe. Jiraiya," he said, nodding at both.

Shikamaru massaged his shoulder as he exited the small building. His mind was full of plans to placate the hunter nin they would probably meet on the way home. That was probably why he was taken by surprised when he was slammed right next to the front door of Jiraiya's place. He scrambled to figure what was up; his answer came from two crimson eyes staring angrily at him.

"Tell me all you know about Itachi Uchiha," Sasuke calmly demanded, "_Now_," the boy added, seeing Shikamaru giving back a glare of his own.

The Chunin had returned the glower because he was starting to get annoyed. Seriously, the arrogant jackass could have simply waited until they were back in Konoha before asking, but no, that would have been… reasonable; couldn't have that now, could we? That guy needed to put in his damned head that you just didn't treat a superior like that; maybe he should remind his fellow shinobi about that.

"Tell you what Uchiha," he said, swatting his hand away, "I _won't_ leave you to explain yourself to the hunter nin we're bound to meet _and_ I'll tell you what you want _when_ we arrive back at Konoha if you stop acting like a moron within the next minute."

The other boy snorted, but he let go anyway. "Coward," he restated. But instead of calming down, Shikamaru could see the boy only grew more restless; this was going to be a troublesome trip… he then tensed because Jiraiya was behind Sasuke looking quite intimidating – he probably exited the house from the window… the man was obsessed with them it seemed. The Uchiha noticed, looked around and stepped back himself.

"Princess, I'm going to say this _once_; I see pulling that kind of stupid stuff again I'll make a trip to the T&I sound _pleasant_." Sasuke gulped before nodding. And just like that the intense pressure coming from Jiraiya vanished. "Good, wouldn't want you to pull that on me while we're traveling now would we?"

Shikamaru blinked. "We…?" Oh great; that didn't sound good at all.

Jiraiya beamed. "Yeah! I just sent the council a toad explaining them everything, so now you're under my supervision. Isn't that great?"

Sasuke looked somewhat mollified, As for Shikamaru… "You don't need us," he mused, "and I don't think you want to train us either.

"Right on both accounts; the only reason I did this is because the brat won't shut up about letting you go if I do."

"Damn right I won't!" yelled the blond from the window above them. Apparently he had also seen Sasuke pull his stunt judging from his angry look.

And with that his fate was sealed. "Thanks Naruto." He muttered to himself, before turning to the Sannin to ask, "Is there any way for me to simply go home?"

"Nope, and you really don't want to make it hard on yourself, twerp."

"So let me get this straight," Shikamaru said, trying to assess the new situation. "Sasuke, Naruto and I, are to follow you on your mission, regardless of my opinion?" a nod, "And furthermore, I'm 'twerp', Naruto's 'brat' and he's 'princess'?" Jiraiya practically beamed at that. "This is going to be a long trip."

The man shrugged, "You're telling me, twerp."

"What's your mission anyway?" the Chunin asked to get a feeling of the mission's troublesomeness.

"We've got to bring Tsunade back and have her become the next Hokage."

The Sannin Tsunade, a troublesome woman with the power to rival Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Of course, like the rest of the legendary trio, she was nowhere near Konoha at the moment. And considering Jiraiya was an open pervert and Orochimaru liked little boys… troublesome didn't begin to describe the situation. Still he asked, "Why?"

"Because I don't want to," answered Jiraiya petulantly.

"This is going to be a _long_ trip," Shikamaru said to no one in particular.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

The rest of the day went by pretty fast for Naruto. It consisted in two parts; first Jiraiya had him swallow a soldier pill. The moment he took it, a pain familiar to the one he suffered from the Kyubi flared from his coils. Fortunately, Jiraiya was kind enough to knock him out before things hurt too much. Still he didn't have to be painful… he'd get that old pervert back for that punch somehow.

The next part was pretty fun though. As soon as he was KO'ed, he woke up in his mindscape. He rushed to the Fox's prison and smiled wolfishly as the Tailed Beast was writhing in pain. Every now and then, the huge cage would send large jolts to the Fox; howl, rage, thrash as it might, the beast couldn't get rid of them. Naruto smugly approached his tenant.

"So," he said smoothly, "how do you like your new room?"

"YOU!" snarled, the Kyubi, "HOW DARE YOU…" but before he could go on, another huge bolt struck him in the back. The Fox decided then to get to the point. "What have you done to this place?"

Naruto's smile grew larger still, "I'm glad you asked, You see, I didn't like what your way of taking back your chakra very much, so I decided to thank you, you know? And since you're so keen on taking over my body I figured we could start by sharing the pain." The Kyubi's eyes grew wide, before pain erupted again. "Anyway, whenever I'm in pain now, this room is set to send you bolts of lightning according to how much pain I'm currently in."

"Dying is too good for you brat! I swear when I get out I'll..." but once again lightning cut off the Fox's threat. "Curse you!" it growled.

"Come on, Kyubi It's only fair considering the other things I gave you." The Fox was in too much pain to understand what he was saying though. "Hey!" Naruto said after a while, "It seems Jiraiya's trick worked; you're not in pain anymore!" The Fox had only the strength to leer at him. It probably wouldn't be in the mood to talk to Naruto, so he decided to leave things as his and explore the sewers of his mindscape.

The place hadn't really changed much since his last visit. He still couldn't see the roof or sky, and walls were still had industrially dull-like color, but after an hour or so of wandering, Naruto finally started to get a feel for his mindscape. He couldn't see at first because the walls were all the same and he thought he was inside a strange building, but the maze that was in his mind bore a striking resemblance to Konoha, as far as the roads went. With that in mind he quickly realized that, quite ironically, Kyubi's prison was placed right where the Hokage's tower would be found.

He wondered where he should go next but he felt a sudden wave of dizziness. It seemed like his time was up. As he fell into unconsciousness he wondered how to get back without the help of the fox

When he woke up Naruto found himself in a dark and damp place. At first he thought he was back in his mindscape, but he could actually see in there; the blond was starting to worry. He heard the distinct sound of a Body Flicker and next thing he knew, Naruto was outside, dazed and slimy. Around him were Jiraiya, Shikamaru and Sasuke. Behind him was… a summoned toad? Suddenly it all made sense to him.

"You… you had a freaking toad _eat_ me!" the scandalized Genin yelled, disregarding the Sage's greeting. "That's… that's messed up, you know!"

Jiraiya snorted. "I knocked you out in the middle of nowhere brat. Did you expect me to carry you or something?" Then the man smiled. "In fact didn't you kids find it strange I had a place right in the middle of nowhere?"

The eyes of the other teens also became saucers.

Quickly overcoming his surprise, Naruto quickly tried to mold his chakra in his hand. It didn't hurt! Still, it felt somewhat off. He quickly made four clones and sent them off to perform various Jutsu, and even then the clones felt like it took him more chakra than it should. It took a few minutes for all of them to dispatch, but when they did Naruto's mood took a dive.

"So?" inquired Shikamaru, guessing what this was about.

Naruto threw his arms in the hair. "It sucks! I have to start the whole glove training from the beginning!"

Shikamaru winced. "That bad huh?"

"Even my wind chronicles are wonky!" whined the blond, "The only thing I'd be able to do right now is the water walk."

"What you mean, 'water walk'?" asked a surprised Jiraiya, "Your chakra control should've been out of whack!"

"It _is_ out of whack!" snapped the blond. "Water walking is from the time before I seriously trained in chakra control."

Shikamaru spent some time in thought. "…Could be worse," the Chunin concluded. "How many clones can you make now?" A puff of smoke and ten clones appeared, to Naruto's dismay. "Have them all work on chakra control until you're at a decent level," the lazy boy advised. "Since you have a feel for it, it shouldn't take more than a week at best."

"Wait, what happened to Naruto?" finally asked Sasuke, "I thought this was part of Jiraiya's training."

Jiraiya and Shikamaru looked at Naruto and he nodded; it wouldn't do to have an irritable Uchiha in the dark. Besides, the whole shinobi population already knew about his Jinchuriki status. When Sasuke was told he frowned.

"You're telling me you had this power and you simply threw it away?" he accused.

Naruto fumed. "Shut it bastard!" but he calmed down quickly enough; he had more important things to do. "I'm going to make my chakra control not suck," he said to no one in particular, "I'll find you when I'm done for the day."

That being said Naruto, branched off the road they were following to train, mindful to leave a clone behind to find his way back.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Contrary to what Shikamaru believed, it only took two days for Naruto to need his training gloves to improve; in other words, he was back to a somewhat functional condition. But the only way to be sure was to have him actually fight, so he had a spar against Jiraiya. After the man thoroughly beat him, he pronounced his verdict.

"Alright; you put up a decent fight and you can use your wind chakra again, so I guess we can start the training." Naruto jubilated, Sasuke scowled, Shikamaru yawned. "The technique I'll have you learn is special. It's supposed to be Jonin level, a bit like the Chidori." Jiraiya then threw a small bag to the blond. "You'll find my instructions along what you need inside the scroll. Ah, by the way, the technique I'm trying to teach is called Rasengan, or Spiraling Sphere."

"Sounds awesome," breathed Naruto reverently. And he could see the bastard growing more jealous by the second; served him right! What he did fail to notice, however, was the scowl on Shikamaru's face.

The Sannin couldn't help but feel smug, seeing the young ones looking at him with admiration for once. "Let me show you the finished product." He looked around; they had left the last forest they came across about a day ago and were in the fields, so no trees. Still there was a huge boulder not too far; he'd use that. Once he got there he made a blue looking sphere of chakra and slammed it into the rock carving a perfectly spherical hole into it.

"Not bad," Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time. Both had Jutsu that could easily rival that kind of damage.

Jiraiya was about to argue but Shikamaru spoke first. "You _do_ realize he was holding back, right?" he asked with a sour expression. "After all, I don't think the Fourth would have made it his favorite attack jutsu otherwise."

The other teens snapped their necks in his direction, eyes growing wide, then they face Jiraiya again, who was looking smug. "Got it in one, twerp! So what do you think about the Rasengan now!"

"…Right." Naruto said, barely containing his drool at the thought of learning a move from the legendary Hokage. "I'll get right on it."

He left in a hurry, leaving a clone behind. Once he was far enough that they disappeared from sight. Naruto unsealed the first scroll. Suddenly, what looked like balloons filled with water fell on the floor along with a note: '_Make them burst with only your chakra._' it said, and it was signed Jiraiya. His mood dropped; how the heck was he supposed to figure how to do that?

Needless to say, his first training day was long and filled with curses.

When Naruto came back the others had already set up camp. He also noticed there was a heavy atmosphere within the group. The bastard's mood was written on his face. The bruises on his face told Naruto that the fool had tried to spar with Jiraiya. Only problem was Jiraiya had no idea what the word 'restraint' meant. As for the two others… Shikamaru looked irritated and tired, while his temporary teacher looked… nervous? His glancing between Naruto and Shikamaru and their moods got the blond curious.

Fortunately he didn't even need to ask, Jiraiya called him. "Naruto, sit down. I got something to tell you." By his tone, Naruto could tell something was up. The sage then glanced at the other teens "You guys will have to leave."

Naruto shrugged. "He's my teammate, he'll probably learn it one way or another. And Shikamaru's my friend."

But the Sannin shook his head. "This isn't up for debate. This is an S-rank secret; I'm not even supposed to tell _you_ this." Naruto was about to protest some more, but Shikamaru simply got up and left, and surprisingly, so did Sasuke. This only helped nurture his curiosity while Jiraiya looked more uncomfortable by the second. "…Right, I guess I should just come out and say it then: I knew your father."

The shock was so great Naruto couldn't speak for a while. His mouth opened and closed a few times, his mind going nowhere at the speed of light. He had so many questions and so many emotions that he didn't know where to start or even if it was real, so he repeated questioningly, "…You knew my father?"

Jiraiya chuckled hearing that. "There are few people who _didn't_ know your father, Naruto," he replied, surprising Naruto even more, "I didn't tell you about him sooner, because… it's complicated really," he said with a frustrated sigh, "Well there are many reasons, one being that the more people had known about it, the more people would have been after you. Another was the Third forbade it."

It made a semblance of sense, still Naruto was internally fuming he'd been left in the dark about his family for so long. "Like for the Kyubi?" he asked, hoping to gain as much insight on the matter as he could.

"No; worse, much worse."

This was alarming, but the wait was killing him. "So…? Who was he?"

"His name… was Minato Namikaze."

Naruto recognized that name. Many nights since he learned about the Fox did he lay awake wondering what had gone through the man's head that he had chosen him of all the newborns in the village; the reality and the logic of it all hit him like a punch in the gut. It couldn't be… there must have existed another Minato Namikaze at some point maybe?

The blond grinned shakily. "You… you're k-kidding, right?" but his smile died when Jiraiya's face remained of stone. "That… can't be. You're telling me the one who…?" he still refused to believe it.

"He was the Hokage; it wouldn't be exactly fair had he taken any other child would it?" Seeing Naruto still in a daze, Jiraiya went on. "He was… the best student anyone could ever hope for; gifted and hardworking. He… had the same drive you had to become Hokage," he said with a small smile. "Everything he did had that goal in mind. Even when he was a Jonin and training Genin; Kakashi could tell you about that."

That seemed to snap Naruto out of it. "Kakashi?" he asked in a deceptively calm tone.

Jiraiya looked even more nervous "Well… yeah, he was Kakashi's mentor. Unfortunately, he's the only living pupil of Minato now."

Naruto understood something entirely different though. "Kakashi knew? You're telling me you guys both knew and you never told me?" he asked, his voice rising with each syllable.

"Naruto, you have to understand they were reasons why we both couldn't tell you."

"Couldn't?" Jiraiya did say it was forbidden didn't he? What the hell was happening? It was like suddenly everyone he thought he could trust betrayed him. "So the old man knew too? What about Iruka? Was I the only damn one who _didn't_ know?" He was clearly angry.

Jiraiya closed his eyes. "No; The Third, some of the Konoha higher-ups and the ANBU from that time know, because of their connection to the Fourth."

Naruto snorted. All those people knew and none of them had had the courtesy to throw him a bone and tell him about his own dad! He got up to leave, he couldn't stay with the pervert right now; he might kill himself by trying to kill him. As he started walking away the Toad Sage called after him.

"Naruto!" against his good judgment the Genin stopped. "There's one more thing I have to tell you," the man said, the pain in his voice evident. "Your father… Minato… he chose me as your godfather."

Naruto shoulders slumped even further, but he didn't turn around. He said almost too calmly. "Well that doesn't surprise me. It seems all of my family has a certain knack for screwing my life up."

That said Naruto walked away.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

He walked all night with no idea where he was, not that he cared. It's not like he would tire anyway; his stamina might have dropped, but it was still above normal. Besides, how much chakra could the act of walking need?

He stopped a few hours into the morning. The scenery had changed. There were trees now compared to where he was yesterday. They were relatively far from each other, but at least they were there, some along the road and some barely entering his sight of vision, and one was right next to him.

Naruto had still to assimilate all he could about his father. When he had started walking he had simply stopped thinking, the pain of all that betrayal too great for him to take all at once. Once he halted, the memories came back full force, and with them the anger. Seeing nothing else he could vent his frustration on, the blond took it out on the tree. He didn't use any chakra though, so his fists quickly turned red.

He was about to slug a last one that would have probably shattered his hand when he was stopped by a thought.

…_**UZUMAKI! I SWEAR YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU PUT THAT INFERNAL CONTRAPTION ON ME!**_

The voice was so loud Naruto winced. _You're too loud Kyubi, _he thought_, I'm trying to punch things angrily here, so shut up! _

There was a silence. Naruto thought it was over and he could return to his self-destructing activities but again the Fox 'talked'.

_**You can hear me? I can hear you…? How is this possible? You're not in your mindscape!**_

_Oh that? I added an intercom to your cage, if I or you say a certain keyword: it opens. Of course, we both have to power to shut out the intercom from our sides, but don't do that too often I might take out the privilege otherwise._

_**Well, may I inquire as to why I was suddenly shocked awake?**_it snarled.

Naruto chuckled bitterly._ Sorry about that I needed to vent after what happened yesterday._

_Which was?_

_Oh don't screw with me you damn Fox Bastard! You must've had a kick of knowing about my old man all this time._

_**So you now know? And I missed that? **_The Fox chuckled._** That must have been pleasant learning how your father sealed me, your greatest bane, into you.**_

_Screw you! _He thought automatically, and then he suddenly realized what the Kyubi was saying._ Wait you mean you didn't see that?_

_Please, do tell me how I could have seen or heard any of that from where I am?_

_You mean, you __**don't**__ know?_ OK, the intercom the Fox couldn't have known because Naruto hadn't brought it up. But for the other thing… how obvious did he have to be? He twitched. _Dude, there's like, a Big Red Button, in the middle of the cage._

There was a pause.

_**So let me get this straight. You turned my prison cell into your personal torture room, I get shocked for reasons beyond my control, and you expect me to push a BIG RED BUTTON?**_

Well, when you put it like that… _OK, I'll give you that. Well I know you don't trust me or anything but you'll miss on something big if you never push it so have a go._

There was a long silence. Naruto looked around looked at his nails, whistled for a bit until he heard the Kyubi's voice again. It didn't take that long.

_**I can see outside!**_

_So I guess you found the TV, huh? That button is the remote control. You can only turn it on or off. There's sound too, you know?_

_**Why…? **_The Fox was clearly confused._** Why have you done this?**_

_Well I just thought it might be boring in your cell. And I was serious about freeing you without me dying. It'd be less trouble for the both of us. _The Fox stayed quiet. Naruto had planned to mope around some more, so he decided to cut this short. _So, what's your keyword? 'Kyubi'?_

_**Kurama**_

Hey, is that…?

_**If I tell you the keyword is Kurama, then it's Kurama brat! **_

Sure thing Kurama.

_**And it's KYUBI to you brat!**_

_Fine, fine whatever you say._

Finally the Fox stayed quiet, yet Naruto couldn't muster that frustration again; he was spent. His anger made place for confusion. Why had Jiraiya waited that long before telling him? Shouldn't he have told him before Shikamaru and Sasuke joined? Shikamaru… of course! That's probably why his friend looked annoyed before; he probably persuaded Jiraiya… but that would mean… Shikamaru knew?

Betrayal, anger and sadness were fighting for his feelings, but in the end it was loneliness that won out. He just couldn't think of a reason for Shikamaru to hold that information from him. He had told him about Danzo and Itachi after all. Unlike Jiraiya, whom Naruto didn't want to see, he felt a sudden need to find Shikamaru and hear his side of the story. Only problem was, he had no idea where he was or where he should go. Maybe he should start heading back; he had been walking straight ahead. Would they be waiting for him? Did Sasuke know?

On the other hand, maybe he had been followed. That would make sense; they wouldn't have left him truly on his own while he was hunted by super dangerous rogue nin, right? He just hoped his hunch was right; he really wasn't in the mood to walk back.

"Shikamaru!" he shouted. Not that he knew his friend was there, but he hope it wouldn't be one of the others.

The Chunin got down from a tree behind him a couple of seconds later. Naruto hid his relief behind a tired expression. Meanwhile Shikamaru looked tired as he neared him; had he stayed up all night as well? Anyway, the Chunin simply closed the distance, waved and said, "Yo." Naruto blinked. "How are you feeling?" he prodded carefully.

"I feel like someone just told me my dad sealed a demon inside my belly," he answered curtly.

Shikamaru had the ghost of a grin. "…Sounds about right."

Naruto took a deep breath and steeled himself for what could be the biggest stab in the back. "You knew," he stated simply.

Shikamaru blinked. "I did."

Naruto was annoyed; his friend didn't even try explain himself! He wanted to punch him, to tell him a piece of him mind, to resent him for this betrayal… he instead took a deep breath. Knowing Shikamaru, he was probably waiting for him to let out his anger and wait until he was ready to listen. The Genin found his usual laziness strangely comforting. It seemed Shikamaru was still Shikamaru.

Naruto calmed down. "I'm listening," he said candidly.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, Danzo hinted at it," Naruto's eyes grew wide, "but I had no idea what he was talking about, so I did a bit of research. When I learned about it Jiraiya had already planned to take you on his trip. I thought he'd tell you about it but, when he decided to teach the rasengan like it was a great _honor_," he spat the word, clearly upset about that, "I… _suggested_ he came clean sooner than later."

So he was right, Shikamaru was behind Jiraiya's confession. Still… "Did you know he's my godfather?"

"He's _what_?" Shikamaru had a look that promised trouble in the near future. He calmed down quickly enough though. "Sorry, that I didn't know." Naruto and Shikamaru spent time in their thoughts about the situation until Shikamaru took a photograph out of his pocket. "Here," he said, "I thought you might want this."

When he saw his blond hair and bright blue eyes staring at him, Naruto burst out laughing. "Damn! He looks just like me! No wonder they don't have his picture anywhere!" He laughed for a good minute until tears started to appear and gradually he went from loud laughter to whisper-like sobs.

He mourned his dad; even though Naruto hadn't come to terms with what the man did to him, he still longed for a father. Some of his tears were for the treatment he had received from the villagers, in spite of what his father did for them, for Kakashi and Jiraiya who apparently had better things to do than take care of the Fourth's son. He cried for the friends he lost; for the Third, for Haku and even for Zabusa. Finally he cried for those he had believed to be his closest friends before he realized they weren't. He cried because he had someone to fight for him like he risked his for his village, a boy that did what other adults should have done years ago, a friend he wasn't strong enough to protect yet. He cried about the unfairness of it all.

Hugging his knees, not bothering to wipe his tears, Naruto mourned his life.

It was past midnight when sleep finally took down the Genin, and even then, he brought his tears to the realm of dreams.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

When Shikamaru woke next morning Naruto was strangely silent. He barely got a greeting from the blond. Fortunately Jiraiya had left Shikamaru with directions to their next stop: Crater City. They were about two days walk from the place, and he figured they would be walking to give Naruto time to cope with what he learned. To make sure they wouldn't get any bad surprises though, Naruto sent four clones in order to scout ahead.

It was because of that the blond found out about the bandits pillaging a group of travelers and their escort. According to the clone, the mercenaries hired to protect the civilians were all dead, but so far the thieves hadn't harmed the non-fighters yet. They decided to intervene. Knowing this would be a perfect way for Naruto to unwind, Shikamaru let Naruto in charge before the Genin even thought of asking. Needless to say, Naruto was ecstatic. He was so happy in fact, that he started to sing.

"_No Evil can resist, the power of his fist…_ Come on Shikamaru, you know that song!"

Shikamaru did know the song; it was the title song of 'Ninja of Oblivion', but singing that out loud was embarrassing at best. Still Naruto looked at him pleadingly. The Chunin sighed; if the situation wasn't what it currently was he'd had refused, but now…

"_He's fueled by his will, his heart his made of steel!_" he sang halfheartedly.

"_In spite of evil's might, he will do what his right!_"

"_His work is never done, 'till he kills the last one!_"

"_Super Ninja Soujiro!_" they both finished. And it was then the steel of various knives and arrows rained on them. Of course they were considerate enough to let Shikamaru totally humiliate himself before they tried to kill him.

How nice.

The Chunin dodged all the projectiles easily, while Naruto's clone vanished after he was turned into pincushion. After that, things went pretty fast: they were about twenty thieves; Naruto could make about the same amount of Shadow Clones. Naruto had shinobi training, chakra enhanced limbs and a chakra channeling sword; the bandits did not. Of course, one or two idiots tried to use civilians as hostages, but Shikamaru made sure to freeze them with his shadow before Naruto gave them such a beat down he was sure they would remember never to pull that kind of stunt again. The result…? The bandits were decimated in about five minutes.

When it was over, Naruto was dusting his hands in a satisfied manner. "Well that felt great! I think nothing could change my mood."

Shikamaru froze. If that wasn't a declaration to invite trouble, he was Rock Lee's long lost hardworking brother. They needed to get out of here – fast!

The Genin noticed his friend sudden change. "Hey Shikamaru? What's the…?"

But he wasn't able to finish the sentence as he was tackled from the side and only his shinobi training prevented his fall. As both Shikamaru Naruto looked to his side, there was a girl. Her clothes were all over the place, yet strangely familiar… in a purely troublesome way, of course.

"That was so awesome! And the way you finished the last guy… so cool!" she squealed.

Shikamaru paled considerably; he knew that voice. And that sentence… he definitely heard it before. A glance and he confirmed Naruto had come to the same conclusion. If the blond had been uncomfortable with the girl stuck by his waist, he was now desperate to remove her from his personage. With considerable effort, he was able to do so and with a step back the shinobi could clearly recognize the girl they had saved in their first mission together.

As for the girl so unceremoniously shoved back, her expression went from outrage to excitement when she good a good look at them "It… it's you guys…" she said, pointing at them with a trembling finger.

Naruto and Shikamaru both thought the same thing at that moment.

_Oh crap!_

_**A familiar face along with familiar trouble! Hang in there team Oblivion!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you like the update. Next chapter… or the one after we're meeting another familiar face; hope you like it.**

**Btw, anyone interested in making a cover image for this fic? I suck at drawing and I don't want to be sued -_-'. If you're interested let me know.**

**Next chapter might come sooner than later… **_**might**_**.**

**Here's the R&R snippet.**

**Rev: ok seriously? you do not know how strong an S rank shinobi is do you? …  
****SShun: **Yes I do.  
**Naru: **S rank means nothing. I beat the Hokage in the first chapter.  
**Shika: **…he's lying right?  
**SShun: **The Third was a perv.  
**Shika: ***sighs*  
**SShun: **Anyways… you forgot to facto motivation and stuff… do you really think Itachi didn't want to get them out of this alive? We're still talking about canon Itachi here.  
**Shika: **As for Kisame… well maybe now he won't underestimate me.

** R_: Ok on the Kurama thing…  
****SShun: **Why do you think he'd get withdrawal? Chakra isn't a drug; besides The Kyubi is still there.  
**Shika: **I don't think it's the lack of Tailed Beast chakra that kills the host, but rather the overload of harmful chakra coursing through them, while their own chakra is nowhere large enough to act as a buffer.  
**Naru: **…makes sense.

**R_: but anyway sasuke naruto and shikamru learning some lesson whenver with jutsu or in life from the strongest leaf ninja? good job on that at least.  
****SShun: **Yeah… about that…  
**Shika: **…I don't expect him to train me either.

**R_: Hes still running away from the problem.  
****Naru: **…but I confronted that damn thing!  
**SShun: **Well, the future will tell.

_**/-/**_

**Rev: Shikamaru vs. The Long Haired People […] was hilarious.  
****Shika: **not for me it wasn't.  
**SShun & Naru: ***laughs*

**R_: But Neji... or rather, Tenten.  
****Shika: **Damn those two are troublesome! but I didn't expect Tenten to be the most troublesome one.  
**SShun: **It's always the quiet ones.  
**Shika: **It's always the women, you mean.  
**Naru:** … Dude, one day you're going to get hurt with comments like that.

**R_: And Hinata... I'm sorry to tell you this, Shikamaru, but there's a good chance you've already seen Naruto naked.  
****Shika: **Yeah, but it happened at the hotel while we trying everything… not that I know what it looks like.  
**Naru: **Yeah, that would have been awkward.

**R_: But Ayame really takes the cake today. I have no words for her level of woman-ness in the face of Shikamaru's karma, so I'll just tip my hat to her. My respect, Ayame.  
****Shika: ***grumbles*  
**SShun & Naru: ***laughs*

**R_: Now, Naruto vs. Kyubi Part II, was epic because it just adds a new level to the phrase: "Take your mind out of the gutter!" That's probably the reason he can only change the nature of the Kyubi's cage and nothing else. It's just his hormones wreaking havoc. Hinata's chances just doubled.  
****SShun: **Nice try but that's not the reason.  
**Naru: **Yeah!  
**SShun: **Naruto is a pervert though.  
**Naru: **Hey, that's not true!  
**Shika: **…right. And those times you went in women bathhouses?  
**Naru: **it was for research, research!  
**Shika: **Doesn't that sound familiar.  
**Naru: **Oh, screw you guys!

**R_: Anyway, I'm really looking forward to maybe more frequent updates and the next chapter especially when even Naruto hopefully gets to call Sasuke an idiot.  
****Naru: **And I did, thanks to you! Thank you Thank you Thank you!


	40. Crater City

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros**

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**40. The Fifth: Crater City**

_**Beware Team Oblivion! The troublesome girl returns!**_

"As far as I'm concerned, this is all your fault," Shikamaru stated while moving at high speed.

"Oh come on! How should I have known she'd be there?" The Chunin gave him a blank stare. "Oh right, the clones …Shut up!"

Naruto had wanted a distraction from the shocking revelation from yesterday. Who wouldn't after learning that their own father, a hero and one of the most loved shinobi of Konoha, had sealed a monster inside them, resulting in the unjustified hatred of the entire population of said hidden village? He needed to step back and reassess the situation with a clear mind but couldn't do so, not after he learned how his _godfather_ had kept all those things from him, hence the need for anything to take his mind of things.

Fortunately, barely an hour after they started their way to Crater City, one of his scouts had found the perfect kind of entertainment: punching bags… or bandits; same difference. What he hadn't counted on however was presence of one lone girl. Personally he had no qualms with the eccentric teen; in fact he found her kind of cute. There were two problems though; one, the two times they had met she had been involved with criminals… not a promising track record. The second and most important was there was a familiar gleam in her eye... he didn't quite place it yet but it made him shudder. And to top it off, Shikamaru had bolted the second he recognized her; some friend he was!

After a catching up with the Chunin who blamed him for pretty much everything wrong in the universe, and an hour of high speed traveling, Naruto stopped. "Think this is far enough?"

Shikamaru sat down. "…Unless she's a shinobi. But then it wouldn't matter how far we went; we didn't exactly go out of our way to hide our trail."

Naruto nodded. He looked at his friend, and suddenly started laughing.

Shikamaru frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Well everything today. Especially your face when you saw her, it was like your mom had come out of nowhere."

"Don't even joke about that!" snapped Nara. "I don't think my heart would take it if that happened."

This sent Naruto into another fit of laughter. Once he calmed down, he decided to return to his training. He didn't mind Shikamaru watching because he was sure the guy wasn't interested, and if he were, he wouldn't outright try to steal his new jutsu. Instead he sent twenty clones to start his glove training while he remained to try and pop the water balloons. After an hour or so, he couldn't even stretch the ball.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto asked innocently, but Shikamaru read him like an open book.

"No," he replied, "I'm not helping you with the Rasengan; it's your training."

"Lazy bastard," the Genin muttered under his breath.

"Actually this is payback," corrected Shadow user, "For Hinata."

At that point Naruto was beyond confused. What did Hinata have to do with the Rasengan? Maybe there was a link with the swat he received when he came with Sasuke. This demanded an explanation.

Said explanation was the most hilarious story Naruto heard in a long time. From the part when Tenten thought Shikamaru was gay, he hadn't stopped laughing. He had even run out of air a couple of times, and the Chunin's way of telling the story and complaining about everyone only added to the humor. He definitely had to thank Ayame for her part – in secret.

"So as you can see… payback." This abruptly brought Naruto back to the fact Shikamaru wouldn't be helping with his training; Damn! "I can give you one tip though," the blond perked up, "Whatever type of training your doing right now, Jiraiya showed you what it should look like in the end, so think about how it looked and how he used it whenever you train."

Naruto nodded and returned to his balloon popping. Jiraiya had called the technique Spiraling Sphere… he probably needed to make the water spin. After an hour or so he was able to do it and the balloon did stretch, but it still didn't pop. He decided to call it a day and the duo moved out. This time they didn't rush, as Naruto was in no hurry to meet back with Jiraya and Shikamaru obviously didn't mind. They had been walking for a while now and the sun was starting to set when Naruto suddenly asked,

"Shikamaru… why?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "You'll have to be a bit more precise than that Naruto."

"Why couldn't they tell me about my… dad?"

"I'm not a mind reader, but even you can tell it wouldn't be smart of them to tell that to a kid if they wanted to keep it a secret. They couldn't trust just anyone with such a big secret. Considering how they do things I'm surprised they even told you about your Jinchuriki status."

Naruto nodded, a bittersweet memory coming to mind. "They didn't."

If Shikamaru was curious about that he didn't show it. "…Case in point."

Naruto digested that information for a moment. "So this isn't like for my Jinchuriki status? The adults in the village don't know about it? Just a few?"

"If most of them knew, there would probably have been a war over your custody."

Naruto blinked. "Because The Fourth's my… father?" he still couldn't get used to it.

"Yeah, and because you probably inherited all his techniques."

Of course! "Hiraishin," he breathed: the reason why the Fourth was such a badass shinobi. He only remembered half of what people said about his father, but one thing that stuck out was he had practically won a war by himself. He couldn't think of any shinobi with such a feat.

Shikamaru seemed to read his mind, because he said, "I read his profile in the Bingo book; he's the only one with a special mention for the Cloud and Rock hidden villages." Naruto was all ears. "Flee on sight." Whoa, that awesome, huh? The blond secretly swore he'd have the same mention too one day.

"I might be wrong," continued the Chunin, "but I think… that's why almost the whole village knew of your other secret; to hide a secret behind another one."

So they could have intentionally ruined his childhood for such a petty reason? "Konoha... isn't the village I thought it was."

His friend shrugged. "Isn't why we want to change it?"

Naruto looked at him. "Yeah." Shikamaru was right; they wanted to change things, make it better. Wasn't it why he wanted to become the Hokage now? Sure there was that whole 'protect the village' thing, but first and foremost he wanted to change the shinobi way. This kind of bull' only served to reinforce his point.

"Shikamaru, I'll meet the council when we go back; I want my father's stuff."

"Right." Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk at that. He quickly became serious again. "Also about Jiraiya…" Naruto mood shifted. "You might be still angry, but I think you should talk to him again. I know he's not your favorite person right now, but I'm sure he's got info on one more person you'd like to hear about."

Naruto didn't even need to think about it. "Mom…"

Nothing else was said for the rest of the day.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto stirred when the first rays of light hit his face. He hadn't slept so well since… but all other thoughts about a good morning when he felt an unfamiliar weight all over his body. What the hell was happening? He tentatively opened an eye to get an idea of his surroundings and quickly found the offender; there was an arm over his chest. Said arm was connected to a familiar face hidden by dark red hair that woke up thanks to his stirring. The two beautiful blue eyes blinked, and the rest of the body snuggled against him. Naruto's own blue eyes widened in fear.

"Good morning cutie," said the nice voice of the perfect stranger.

Naruto was ashamed to admit it, but he screamed like a girl when he saw his company. The girl winced a bit because of the volume, but giggled when she saw his expression of absolute terror. Naruto, trying to make sense out of this situation scrambled out of his bed and pointed an accusing finger at his bed partner.

"Wha… what are you doing in my bed?" he asked, almost afraid to find out.

The girl looked sad. "How can you even ask that? After… all that happened last night," she added shyly.

"All that happened last night…?" how come every word coming out of her mouth was scaring him to death?

"And you were so rough, too," she started to draw circles on the ground, refusing to look Naruto in the face. "But it felt… so good" The girl suddenly grabbed her red face and shook her head letting out a little squeal. "I can't believe I just said that."

Naruto found he had difficulty breathing. "N-no that can't be…?"

"I just hope you'll take responsibility though, I warned you this was a bad day."

And that was too much for Naruto, who slumped on the floor frothing from the mouth. His shinobi career was officially over because of some random girl. Worse, he couldn't even remember his first time. How the hell was he supposed to become a Hokage now! The poor blond was imagining the worst when he heard the sound of muffled laughter.

"Stop, stop," Shikamaru begged, holding his sides, "I'm dying here!"

"Shikamaru!" Naruto wailed desperately. This only amused the Chunin further. Naruto sat up and looked at his friend straight in the eye. "Wait… it's not true at all, is it?" For sole answer the Nara heir laughed harder. "Damn it, Shikamaru that wasn't funny!" the young Genin snapped.

"It was funny; you should have seen your face!" Seeing Naruto face, Shikamaru recovered quickly enough. "Relax, it's not like she could have actually done it."

"And how would you know?" the mystery girl snorted, finally joining the conversation after being ignored by the Chunin.

He looked at her with a blank expression. "I'll answer that, if you can tell me this; when did I wake up?"

If Naruto had any doubts about their follower being a shinobi, he was settled. No self-respecting shinobi would look that troubled after such a simple question. Still that wasn't a tangible proof. Besides the girl almost immediately put up a front, and said with a fake smile,

"That's a trick question; you were never sleeping."

Well that settled it: she wasn't a shinobi. Naruto snorted. "Nice try lady. Shikamaru would sleep through the apocalypse if he could." Shikamaru nodded, though it was clearly meant as an insult. "He's just a very light sleeper when he's a mission because…" And then he realized why Shikamaru let the girl sneak into his bed.

"Because…?" Shikamaru inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Because 'A sleeping shinobi is a dead shinobi' rule number five." The Genin pouted. "You didn't have to be a jerk about it."

"Of course I had to. Besides, that was for Shino."

Naruto froze. From Shikamaru's story, Shino was one of the least annoying people that messed up Shikamaru's day. If that was his kind of payback…

"Shikamaru? I kinda get why you're angry at me, I'm sorry I laughed at you, but the next stunt you pull like that and I'll show you how pranks are _really_ done. So can we just call it even now? Before this turns into a prank war?"

"Well I guess we could… after I get you back for Ayame." Naruto groaned; that's exactly what he was trying to avoid. "Now on to more important matters," he fixed a cold glare on the newcomer, who flinched, "You're not a shinobi; who are you? How did you find us?"

The girl scoffed. "Again what makes you think I…" but she paled when her right hand rose against her will to rub her chin. "I… can't control my body! I can't move" she noticed, she sought Shikamaru with her eyes. "How did you do that? When did you…?"

The Chunin cut her short. "Several times since you got here." his tone became threatening_ "Who are you_?"

"If you think your little trick can scare me… I know you won't hurt me, Mr. Hero." She fell down with a small shriek when Shikamaru cancelled his technique.

"You're right," he admitted indifferently, "fortunately this next move won't hurt a bit."

The young girl scrambled to her feet to see the Chunin's hand engulfed in what appeared to be darkness, she tried to turn back and run… only to run into Shikamaru, who touched her right shoulder with his darkened hand. Well Naruto concluded from expression that whatever hid friend did was painless, however…

"I… I can't feel my arm!" The girl whispered as she paled.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled, outraged.

Shikamaru ignored him in favor of his interrogation "Your name please?" The poor stranger tried to run but again Shikamaru was by her side in a heartbeat. "You know, I could probably outrun you by simply _walking_ fast. Also you have about ten seconds until you lose your leg."

That stopped the girl. "Aya…" she finally said, that last threat having the desired effect, "my name is Aya Fukuzawa. What have you done to my arm?" she asked back, truly frightened now.

"Shut down your nerves." Naruto didn't know what it really meant, but… Aya's face was now white as a sheet. "Yeah, I know," Shikamaru said with fake sympathy, "How did you find us?"

"My friend taught me how."

"You didn't answer my question."

Aya stepped back "I… I followed your tracks. That's the best way I can explain it," she said franticly.

Shikamaru frowned. Naruto figured that answer wasn't what he was looking for either. The Chunin asked another question.

"Is that friend of yours a shinobi?"

"He was; he's not anymore."

The Shadow user nodded and sighed. "I see… Thank you for your cooperation." He then turned around to take out what would become their breakfast. Naruto was getting angry, but said nothing. The girl shifted uncomfortably before finally asking,

"What about my arm?"

"What about your arm?" Shikamaru repeated.

"Aren't you going to fix it?" she whined, raising the sealed arm.

Shikamaru didn't even look at her. "Fix what?"

She was about to argue but finally noticed she could move her arm again. "Wait, I can feel my arm again."

"Of course you can… this time," the Chunin stated. "Now scram."

Seeing she refused to take the hint, Naruto approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. He felt for her when she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Hey," he said kindly "You might want to leave now."

Aya looked at him, then at Shikamaru, and back at him before running in the direction she came from. He had to admit he let out a sigh of relief when that strange girl left his line of sight in one piece. He turned to Shikamaru who was almost done with his soldier ration.

"Dude, that scared the hell out of me, you know? Warn me when we're using the good nin bad nin routine!"

Shikamaru retorted, "And when was I supposed to do that, in your dreams?" Naruto snorted. "We haven't found a code word for that yet, besides you know me better than that."

Well, he was right about that point; his mother would probably have his head on a platter if he harmed a girl without cause. "Still you didn't have to be that mean."

"And what would you have done when she started following us around?" the genius snapped in annoyance. "This isn't a vacation, Naruto."

Naruto had thought about it while Shikamaru had started to interrogate the girl and still hadn't come up with a solution to that. He crossed his arms in defiance. "I still say you didn't have to scare her like that."

"Do tell me what other way I could have used. You know the rules about harming civilians, and since I'm not officially on a mission…"

…That Aya girl could have even _hired_ him. Damn, he hadn't thought of that. Naruto shuddered.

"Fine, fine, let's just get out of here." He said to Shikamaru, but the Chunin froze. His face changed color as he silently approached Naruto.

"What's wrong Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru carefully lifted an electronic device on the ground near Naruto. "Maybe we should stay around some more after all."

"Jeez, make your damn mind, you lazy bastard," the blond said in pretend annoyance.

The two ate their food in relative silence. Shikamaru then motioned him to make two clones. Naruto quickly understood his friend's plan. One of the clones transformed into Shikamaru and the two talked and argued with each other while the real Team Oblivion, packed and snuck away from the camp. After that they headed towards Crater City.

"So you think that was a listening device?" asked Naruto once they had moved a good distance from there.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I think that was a _tracking_ device, that just so happened to _also_ serve as a listening device."

Naruto's jaw dropped. Well at least they knew how they had been tracked down so easily. She had probably used it to find them in the first place, so that girl planted the tracking device when they met earlier yesterday. Furthermore, if Shikamaru found that thing near him that meant Aya must have put it there while she hugged the life out of him earlier. And to top it off, she now had reason to doubt they would truly try to harm her. To summarize they were in trouble.

"Are you sure she's not a shinobi, cause she's damn scary," Naruto commented worriedly.

Shikamaru had nothing to say to that.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Fortunately they weren't any more incidents as the pair traveled to Crater City. They slowed their pace down about two hours from the place, so Naruto could train with whatever he did with the water balloon. As for him Shikamaru was going through some of the strategies he had devised for his new techniques. They could start to see the city when the Chunin heard a popping sound next to him.

"Hey Shikamaru I think I've got it." Naruto jubilated.

"That's interesting. I suppose the jutsu isn't done though," Shikamaru guessed.

"Not yet, I have two more steps to complete. Besides," he added deep in thought, "Look how I do it." Shikamaru observed how Naruto had to use his left hand to guide the swirls of what he supposed was chakra in order to blow up the water balloon. "See? Two hands; I think I'll have my clones work on that instead of chakra control while I start on the…" The blond stopped as he saw hardballs fall out of second scroll. "Aw come on!"

Naruto whined about the stupid training until Shikamaru felt the need to interrupt him. "We're here." He announced.

They arrived in the middle of what seemed to be the festivities. When Shikamaru asked one of the locals, he learned the city had events like these every other week or so, to attract tourists. The Chunin thought it was costly, but it must work for them to continue to do it. Naruto held him before he could move further into the main street.

"So, are we supposed to meet Jiraiya?" the boy asked apprehensively.

When Shikamaru nodded Naruto took a deep breath and nodded back, and the Chunin led him to the Inn set as rendezvous point. Jiraiya was there, waiting for them. Sasuke looked all right. He either stopped asking for punishment or decided he didn't want to be publicly humiliated. Both reasons worked for Shikamaru. Meanwhile neither Naruto nor Jiraiya had said a word; both shinobi were only staring at each other. Jiraiya decided to break the ice first by clearing his throat.

"Naruto."

"Pervert Sage," greeted Naruto.

The lack of banter or comments or anything else really, told all of them that Naruto still wasn't over what happened earlier. Jiraiya took it in stride though. "Yeah, I guess I kinda deserve that. How's your training?" For sole answer, Naruto took out a water balloon and popped it. The Sannin scratched his chin. "We'll I have to admit I'm impressed; it took me about a month to get it down… though I could do it one-handed."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm just awesome like that."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Anyway, according to my sources at Otafuku City Tsunade was last seen here so I'm going to do a bit of digging see if can get a lead."

"Right, you do that." he said, before turning to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru! Let's go to the fair!"

Well he certainly wouldn't say no to a day of not doing troublesome things "Better than training, I guess."

Naruto ignored Sasuke, to the Uchiha's annoyance, and pulled out his frog wallet. "I can't wait to try all the candy—hey! That's my froggy!" he shouted at Jiraiya who had simply swiped the money.

"And what do you intend to do with all that money Naruto?" asked the old sage. He started to wag a finger. "Money, Alcohol, Women: the three banes of shinobi everywhere. Trust me, you'll thank me someday for this, brat."

And with that Jiraiya left to look for Tsunade. Naruto was fuming, understandingly so. Shikamaru smiled, and so did Sasuke. "That damn pervert!" he raged, "I'm betting he's gonna waste all my cash on booze and women."

Shikamaru couldn't help but share his sentiment, but there was nothing he could about that now. Fortunately he had enough money for both of them. So Naruto calmed down, and he showed him his wallet that, though lighter, promised they could have all the fun they could want. The blond started walking and he followed, curious to see what Naruto would want to try first when the Genin stopped and without turning said,

"Oi, bastard, you're coming or what?"

Oh right, the Uchiha. The young Nara turned around to see Sasuke snort, neither accepting nor denying the invitation. But when Shikamaru and Naruto reached the main street where all the games and the food stands were gathered, Naruto's official teammate could be seen trailing not too far behind.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

"Well, this is more boring than I thought," Naruto realized after a few hours.

Shikamaru shrugged, but he looked bored as well. Sasuke looked his usual aloof self, but there was a beginning of impatience in his pace. It wasn't like there was nothing to do, but the games had clearly civilians in mind. The various skill games here were weren't enough to even test their reflexes. As for the food, Naruto could only eat so much non-ramen delicacies. What really irked them, or what really irked Sasuke really, were the girls hovering around them trying to openly flirt with the Uchiha while most boys their age and even older sometimes were trying to turn them into paste with their eyes – still because of Sasuke.

Fortunately, Shikamaru pointed into the direction of a rather interesting poster.

Naruto did a double take. "Super Ninja Mayhem 5?" his eyes were shining with excitement.

"And it's coming out today too."

"Aren't you too old for such kiddy stuff?" asked a bored Sasuke, and he was promptly rewarded with two dark looks which surprised him. "What? You too Nara?"

"Have you even watched one of those movies?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer by the way Sasuke didn't like the series. "Then shut up and come watch with us, bastard! Or do you have anything better to do than mope around?"

"…Whatever."

With that settled, Naruto started to head towards the general area of the festival to ask for directions when he bumped into an older man. The man wore an expensive and colourful wardrobe mostly filled with red and brown. His hair was greying putting him past his forties, but his face was too young for that. His entourage marked him as someone somewhat important while the sake bottle in his hand told the teens it probably wasn't for the right reasons. The man almost lost balance, but was quickly caught by his men.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, brat!"

Naruto, either because the man was at fault or because of the moniker that reminded him of Jiraiya was quick to reply. "How about you do that yourself, moron!"

The man pretended not to hear that, instead he looked at the stain his sake had left on his clothes. "Look at my clothes! You're going to pay for that!"

Shikamaru looked at the men trying to intimidate them. "You intend for a kid to pay for your expensive clothes? How noble," he drawled sarcastically.

One of the men took place near Naruto's victim who obviously was their leader. "Watch it brats. This man used to be a dangerous shinobi you know? You'd better simply give us all your money and call it even, yeah?"

Naruto wondered if these guys were serious. He was beginning to think he wouldn't mind kicking their asses.

Next to him Sasuke snorted. "This is a waste of time; let's just get out of here." Naruto shrugged and followed the Uchiha, still in a sour mood thanks to the stupid men. Apparently they weren't done because now the said men had surrounded them.

"It seems you didn't understand the situation," hissed the underling dangerously.

Naruto had had enough. Plus he really did want to see the movie. "Oh I get it perfectly; you're asking for some ass kicking right? Sure, I can do that."

And before any of the adults could do anything Naruto made some clones, and about a minute later, the shinobi were ready to move out. The man Naruto had bumped into had taken a couple of chakra-reinforced blows to stop, and even then he was the only one conscious. Maybe he was a shinobi after all; too bad he was totally drunk.

"You'll pay for this!" the man mumbled.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah whatever… MOVIE!" yelled the exuberant blond, pointing at the movie theater; at least now they wouldn't have to go look for it.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

As the now sober Masashi slowly got on his feet, only one thing was going through his mind: revenge. He'd make the brats pay for the insult. Also this was the last time he got drunk midday. He had to admit it was his fault for underestimating the twerps, but could he have really expected Genin here of all places? Anyway, he'd need more muscle if he wanted to make a lasting impression.

He was wondering how to bait them. If only he had something or someone he could…

"Damn, just missed them," said a voice next to him. Masashi turned to see a girl about their age giving him the doe eyes. "Hey mister, do you know where those boys were headed? I'm their friend and I just got in town…"

Masashi smiled threateningly. _Now that was far too easy,_ he thought happily.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

"So Sasuke, how awesome was the movie?"

Naruto couldn't help but be excited as they left the theatre; 'Return from Oblivion' was even better than the last movie, and that one was beyond awesome. The way Soujiro had simply waltzed in the enemy base and single-handedly kicked the ass of all the Darkness Generals was epic. After watching such an action-packed movie, Naruto had to have some action himself. Next to him Shikamaru had traded his scowl for a small grin. He too was waiting for the bastard to take back his words.

As for Sasuke he barely mumbled something neither Naruto nor Shikamaru could understand.

"…Eh?"

"I said, I admit it was a good movie, for some people playing pretend," said a bitter Uchiha, "but I never said that, and I _never_ watched that movie, got it dobe?"

Naruto smiled impishly. "A closet Soujiro fan? That's OK, as long as you appreciate his badass-ness."

Still, the trio had few ideas about their next stop. Returning to the fair didn't seem like such a good idea, and they weren't any other movies the teens wanted to see, so their means of entertainment kept dwindling. Basically they were left with wandering, eating, sleeping, training and sparring. Except Sasuke got too serious in fights and Shikamaru would refuse, not to mention he didn't want the Uchiha to steal the Rasengan from him…

They were still in the midst of boredom when they fell on a familiar figure right between two buxom beauties. The man was laughing lecherously while enjoying a cup of sake, and if that wasn't enough, on the table next to some playing cards was the means of his perverted activities.

"My froggy!" Naruto screeched; the poor thing had been mercilessly gutted and emptied from all its metallic entrails. 'Money, alcohol and women', was it? The old pervert was taking part in all three vices at the same time! While the blond double-checked to see if some coins had remained from the onslaught, Sasuke scoffed while Shikamaru shook his head.

"Hey kids, having fun?" The man asked, totally failing to read the mood, probably because he was drunk. Naruto decided to help by drawing some killing intent. The boy wasn't used to this trick and it showed, as Jiraiya didn't even notice the change in the atmosphere, however his escorts did, and decided to leave while the blond still had his sword in his sheath.

"Hey ladies, where are you going?" It was then that he noticed this was the work of Naruto. "Hey, what are you doing brat?" Naruto's eye twitched. Whether because of that or coincidence, Jiraiya immediately sobered up. He coughed. "…Right. Sorry about that brat. We got our next lead and I just thought I could relax a while. We were going to leave tomorrow after all."

"Huh uh." Naruto said, but the blond still eye his frog wallet in a disturbing fashion.

The Sannin winced. "We could also leave right now, if there's nothing else you need to do."

The prospect of traveling again sounded good to Naruto, so he relented. Shikamaru and Sasuke were for the second idea as well. Of course that didn't suit Jiraiya at all since he had already booked the hotel rooms for at least two other nights, but the rookies didn't know that; and if they did probably wouldn't care. With that detail settled, they headed for the road.

"Stop right there!"

Naruto looked up to see a familiar face standing on the roof of some sort of small convenience store to their left, his expression quite bloodthirsty. In front of Genin and his group were about thirty thugs looking equally threatening. The Genin actually smiled; this was just what he needed after that ninja movie: some real action.

"Oh, it's you again. What, the first ass kicking wasn't good enough?" Naruto taunted cockily.

"You'd better be mindful of your manners, brat!" As the leader said that one of his underlings came in sight with a hostage and held her at the edge of the roof. The height of the store wasn't that much, but the knife touching the person's neck gave the threat more weight. The ex-shinobi smirked. "Someone could get hurt, you know?"

The hostage, a red haired girl with blue eyes and a weird sense of fashion… Oh hell! It couldn't be! Naruto and Shikmaru's eyes widened. That girl looked just like…

"Mr Hero! Mr Cutie! Help me!" she called out with her best distressed expression. However moments after her movie worthy performance, the red head failed to hide her triumphant smile, eyeing her prey in way that left no doubt who was the true mastermind behind the whole thing. Naruto's jaw dropped. Shikamaru's left eye began to twitch; that was Aya all right. For once Naruto borrowed from Shikamaru's vocabulary. Troublesome was the only way to describe that girl.

"You'll do as I say, or the girl gets it!" the retired shinobi ordered.

Shikamaru looked tired. He sighed and started to walk in the opposite direction. "You can keep her," he said.

Naruto blinked then looked at Aya and then at the whole group of thugs; getting some action wasn't worth the trouble in this case. "What he said," he added, quickly joining his friend.

Masashi looked at loss about what to do. He was about to order his thugs to get the insolent brats but was cut off by Aya who shouted, "Oh, you guys! You wouldn't just abandon your _civilian_ friend in _mortal peril_ like that would you?"

Team Oblivion froze. That girl got them; they had no choice but to save her… mostly because their moment of hesitation was enough for twenty more thugs to cut off their escape route. The teens shuddered. "That girl is evil," Naruto whispered to Shikamaru who nodded. This was going to be unpleasant.

"I take out the grunts, you go for the save," Shikamaru told him.

Naruto shook his head. "Nuh uh! Why don't you save the girl _Mr Hero_?"

"Because this is your fault to begin with, _Mr Cutie_!" argued the Chunin.

The two continued arguing back and forth until a third voice interrupted them. "What are you idiots doing?" Sasuke asked icily, "We're wasting time here! I could have dealt with the situation hours ago!"

The pair looked at each other before smiling in a conniving way. "Well how about you demonstrate for us, Sasuke?" goaded Naruto. "You make it sound like it's easy to save that hostage."

The Uchiha smelled a trap, but couldn't turn down an opportunity to prove he was better than Naruto. "Watch and learn dobe," he told him. He took a good look at his surroundings, and estimated the threat these thugs could pose before he acted.

"[Fire Element: Great Fireball Jutsu]!"

The thugs were unprepared for such a move and scrambled to safety. This was exactly the kind of effect young Genin aimed for. While the flames distracted everyone, Sasuke rushed towards the convenience store, throwing a kunai at the thug holding the hostage at knifepoint. The projectile hit the man's knife arm who instinctively brought it back, while pushing the hostage away. The girl fell… right into the arms of Sasuke who had jumped to catch her. He expertly jumped from the wall to land safely a short distance away from the store and use his speed to quickly rejoin his comrades.

"Way to go bastard!" Naruto cheered. Everything was going according to plan. Sasuke had now saved Aya. Following the pattern, she would fall for him and he and Shikamaru wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.

Sasuke eyed the girl in his arms. "Hey, are you—"

"Hey moron! What are you doing?" Aya asked darkly, poking the Uchiha in the chest while keeping her sweet smile. "Did I ask for your help? I specifically asked for Hero and Cutie over there, didn't I? Do you know how much planning when into tricking those guys into thinking I was some helpless hostage? They were supposed to save me and I was supposed to tag along. Now my plan is ruined! How are you going to fix it, eh moron?"

Naruto watched all this with a healthy dose of apprehension. "Shikamaru, am I supposed to be scared?"

"If it helps any, I'm scared too," answered the Chunin.

"What are you incompetent fools doing? Get them!" The leader yelled.

Naruto saw Shikamaru preparing some tagged kunai and quickly stopped him. "I got this," he told him, "You take care of the boss up there." Shikamaru shrugged and stepped back.

Naruto made one clone to cover their backs and stepped in front of the large group. They were clearly underestimating him because only three grunts ran towards him, two of them waving their steel pipes menacingly. Naruto moved to meet them. As the two weapon wielders attacked with a typical downward attack, the blond swiftly took out his blade. In one exaggerated motion, he cut the two pipes to finish with a downward punch on the third assailant, instantly taking him out. The other two were too startled by the destruction of their weapons to see Naruto drop and deliver and enhanced mule kick aimed at their chests, sending the two flying.

The rest of the bad guys were shocked into place. Naruto sighed. "If you don't come all at once you're going to end up like these fools, you know."

That seemed to get their attention, as both the front and back groups advanced on Naruto's team. He looked at his clone who nodded. His wind chronicles weren't at their best right now, and were more suited for one-on-one fights anyway. Fortunately he had one more wind Jutsu.

"[Wind Element: Great Breakthrough Technique]!"

Naruto leveled the street from both sides, sending the men into walls stands and other various hard surfaces. After that it was only a matter of picking off the people still conscious.

This was kind of disappointing.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

"I can't believe you fools got done in by a kid!" shouted the retired ninja.

"And I can't believe you still haven't noticed me," said Shikamaru in a bored tone.

The one responsible for this waste of time nearly fell off the roof as he turned around. "How did you get here?" Seeing Shikamaru refused to answer, the man's surprise, turned into anger. "Damn you! If you think I'm like these weaklings, you've got another thing coming brat!" He made some hand seals and dashed towards the Chunin, both his hands crackling with electricity.

Shikamaru had made a hand seal of his own as he rushed as well his hand once again engulfed in shadows. _[Shadow Hand Technique]_ he thought as the man neared him.

"Eat this, [Thunder…]"

His mind Flicker already activated, he easily dodged the oncoming strike and aimed for his opponent's throat. The rest of the jutsu's name died on the man's lips as the shadow user's jutsu took effect. Suddenly, the older shinobi couldn't breathe. He vainly tried cursing the Shikamaru, but no sound would come out. He fell on both knees hand around his throat like this could affect his jutsu in any way. This only annoyed Shikamaru more than he already had been. Neither he nor the troublesome Aya were worth the effort.

"I could've done without the waste of time, you know? That girl's been a pain since I met her, and you had to bring her with you!" Naruto who had just finished taking care of the last grunt, appeared next to him. The blond looked at the fallen shinobi desperately grasping for air as Shikamaru continued his rant. "We don't even live here! It's not like we were a threat to you or anything; but nooo, someone had an injured pride. Someone needed revenge! Do you even have any idea how much trouble I've been in since this whole damn thing started? Well?"

Naruto cleared his throat next to him and pointed the poor sap. He his face was now purple and tears were coming out of his eyes. Shikamaru blinked. "Oh right, you can't really talk like that, can you?" Naruto shook his head as the Chunin released the man from his jutsu.

As Masashi struggled for air, Shikamaru walked towards him, followed by Naruto. "Well?" the shadow user asked, "Aren't you going to apologize for all the trouble you put us through?"

Seeing their looks, the man quickly scrambled to his knees. "I am truly sorry, please forgive me!"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, who grinned evilly as he cracked his knuckles.

"Request Denied!"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

One complete and painful ass kicking later, Naruto and Shikamaru returned to Sasuke and Jiraiya, hoping against all hope Aya would be willing to leave them alone. Of course she didn't; the moment they were within reach, the red haired girl walked towards them innocently her hands behind her back.

"So…" she said inserting herself in the middle of the duo, "I have to admit you scared me, Mr Hero, but you were just trying to protect me weren't you?" Shikamaru wanted to say something but Aya cut him off "It's OK, you know?" she said, wiping a fake tear, "I know it was hard to push me away like that, but I'll _never_ let something like that happen again."

There was something in the way she said it that made Naruto pale and Shikamaru sigh. Not far from there, Jiraiya hid a chuckled and Sasuke smirked, finally understanding the duo's predicament.

"So you really don't want to go away?" asked Shikamaru.

"Nope!" she said cheekily.

"Suit yourself." The girl turned to look at him but Shikamaru was faster. A chop to the back of the neck and Aya was now in the arms of Naruto, unconscious. The Genin barely raised an eyebrow.

"What do we do with her?" the blond wondered.

"We find a gullible and kind-hearted soul to take this perfect stranger who probably fainted from a heatstroke to the hospital," the Chunin explained soundly.

"Well that's not very gentlemanly of you kids," Jiraiya chided.

Naruto snorted. "Remind me again, where you spent my money you stole, _Mr Gentleman_?"

Jiraiya flushed. "…Right. Let's just leave."

And so they put their plan into action. Its execution took a grand total of five minutes and then they were on their way. They were passing by the main street to head for the gates, when they heard a loud noise. Straining their ears the shinobi could also hear the sounds of fighting not too far from here.

"Oh what now?" Shikamaru was clearly in no mood to suffer through more drama today. "Let's just go," he said, when the noise started to calm down.

Naruto didn't share his opinion. "Wait don't you want to see what's going on first?"

"You do that. I'm not going; it's probably a troublesome street brawl or some other rubbish." He was about to add more but was interrupted.

"Accept your fate, wench! No one escapes the Sound!"

All the shinobi heard that declaration and their expressions all became dangerous. This was after all the name of the hidden village responsible for the death of the honourable Third.

"On second thought…" Shikamaru let out darkly.

A collective nod and the Leaf shinobi carefully followed their ears. As they approached the place, careful to hide their presence, they could see an open fight in the streets nearing its end. Two of the Sound nin lay crumpled, but the target, a young kunoichi, looked tired and out of ammo. Her back to a wall, and holding her pig protectively, she still had the guts to glare at them defiantly. None of the Leaf nin like the leer on the face of what appeared to be the leader of the Sound group.

There was a pause, and then the Sound Jonin sent two shinobi to retrieve the young woman. As they were close Naruto made a clone and sprung into action, using the effect of surprise and the fact they were in midair to cut both of them down. The assailants managed to alter their direction and divert most of Naruto's kodashi, but they still got wounded. Shikamaru and the rest used the commotion to quickly surround the kunoichi protectively.

"Who…?" The leader asked. He quickly glanced at the headbands they were wearing in various places. "These guys are Leaf nin!" he sneered.

"Yep! And we're here to kick your ass!" Naruto boldly announced.

It seemed the assailants were eager to refute that statement but the Sound Jonin raised his hand halting their advance. "This is too much too handle for now; we're leaving." He took out a smoke bomb and threw it in order to cover his exit. The others left by similar means, leaving only the wounded or the dead.

Shikamaru found the Sound nin escape disappointing, but he had feeling he would be seeing them soon enough. So instead he focused his attention on the kunoichi they had just saved. Jiraiya was next to her and looked quite serious.

"So Shizune, how come you're here? Where's your boss?"

From the way the young woman looked away, you could see something serious had happened. "You know that lady, pervert sage?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "This is Shizune," he said, pointing her with his hand. "She's the pupil of Lady Tsunade."

Shikamaru frowned.

_Well that makes things more troublesome._

_**Shizune has been found! But then, where's Tsunade?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: Hey guys! How do you like Aya so far? My Beta Reader says she's scary; means I'm doing something right. Also this is my 40****th**** chapter. Go me! Lastly, my summer updates are somewhat better I have nothing to say.**

**I have nothing else to say -_-'**

**Snip**

**Rev: I seriously adore this fic. I promise to give you a full depth review one day but for now I will just make it brief.  
****Naru: ***Looks at review* That's brief?

**R_: I love the way you have displayed the characters. You have managed to shine light on their best points but still bring forth their flaws and weaknesses. […]  
****Naru: **Yeah I'm awesome in this.  
**Shika: **…But an idiot and your luck is rotten.  
**Naru: **Hey!  
**Shika: **And I'm smart but lazy  
**Aya: **And I'm perfect!  
**Naru & Shika: **…Right

** R_: Shikamaru and Naruto make such a great team. […]  
****Aya: **They do, don't they? That's what I like the most about them – that and their reactions… so entertaining.  
**Naru & Shika: ***glares at Shun*  
**SShun: **…what?

** R_: And I would love to give Shika a big hug for standing up for Naru but he would just refuse and think I'm another troublesome woman.  
****SShun: **What? You're like me? You don't like hugs?  
**Shika: **I don't mind hugs.  
**Aya: ***smiles*  
**Shika: **Except from her.  
**Aya: ***pouts* Well I'm still going to hug you lots in the future anyway, so there!

** R_: Also the greater plot going on with Genta and co. is really interesting and I'm always looking forward to see more of it unfolding. All the story arcs have also been insanely entertaining and interesting.  
****SShun: **I'll be honest here and say that the feedback helps a lot with the plot. That and I try to be as original as I can. Except for Naruto's sword.  
**Naru: **Damn right!

_**/-/**_

**Rev: Thank YOU, Naruto! Sasuke really needed to hear that, I think. […]  
****Aya: **Sasuke's that kid that saved me right? Serves him right!  
**Naru: **So… I got to wonder, why didn't you fall for him?  
**Aya: **Well I don't like the way he talked to you guys, plus he sounds like a stuck up jerk.  
**Shika: **Got him in one! But isn't that what girls usually go for?  
**Aya: **Don't worry, you two are my prey. That won't change.  
**Naru: ***finger snaps*  
**Shika: **I was afraid of that.

** R_: Also, I've become increasingly convinced that this fic should be an anime. […]  
****SShun: **Well I can't draw and I can't animate for sh** so…  
**Naru: **I'd watch it, though.  
**Aya: **Ditto.  
**Shika: **Same.

** R_: And I think Jiraya will rue the day Shikamaru is strong enough to get back at him about being Naruto's godfather…  
****Shika: **Oh, I don't need to be strong enough…

** R_: As usually, I'm looking forward to the next update. I really hope Shikamaru /is/ Rock Lee's long lost brother, just to one up the trouble That Girl will cause - and maybe it will teach Naruto not to jinx that much.  
****Aya: **Thank you! I'll try to do my best.  
**Naru & Shika: **…  
**Naru: **I screwed up bad, didn't I?  
**Shika: **Gee, ya think?


	41. Brawl

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**41. The Fifth: Brawl**

_**Team Oblivion finds Tsunade's assistant! The search continues!**_

Shikamaru sat around the campfire with a bowl of instant ramen. To say this was a development he was dreading was an understatement. He really wanted to just leave and drag Sasuke back to Konoha; they weren't so far away after all. The problem was Naruto would probably never forgive him for that, and that meant the blond would prank him into oblivion.

Not a prospect he was looking forward to.

Shikamaru sighed and cleared his throat. "I think some introductions would be good at this time," he said, "If only because I don't want this to become an even more troublesome mess than it already is." He took the silence as cue to go on. "My name's Shikamaru Nara. I'm a Chunin: a middle ranked shinobi. I'm here because these guys are idiots. The rest is too troublesome to explain."

He tuned out the outcry from Naruto and Jiraiya along with Sasuke's derisive snort, and waited for the next one to speak.

"I'm Naruto, and I'm not an idiot, you know!" he snapped glaring at Shikamaru. "Anyway I'm here to train with the Pervert Sage and help him with whatever he has to do. Also, I love ramen and I want to become an awesome shinobi."

"Sasuke Uchiha. And though this dobe is certainly an idiot," Naruto protested with a vehement snort, but was ignored; "I am not. The rest is none of your business. Also, Jiraiya sucks."

Next was Jiraiya, whose eye was twitching. He took a deep breath and started boastfully, "Well I'm the awesome…"

"He's a super pervert," all three boys finished.

"Damn it, brats! I'm also a legend, a legend!" sighed the Sannin in frustration. "Anyway, besides being the awesome man that I am, I'm also the leader of this mission. The rest is classified information."

Up next was the newcomer. "I'm Shizune. I was a medic nin from Konoha but I left with Lady Tsunade a while ago. I'm here… because I'm also looking for Lady Tsunade."

And that was troublesome in itself. That medic wouldn't or couldn't explain how she and her boss got separated; only that the Sound was involved. The tone she had used however, told them the matter was far from being resolved. Considering Jiraiya's mission was about her, it made helping the legendary woman a priority. If a freaking member of the Sannin needed help… yep, definitely troublesome. And that wasn't even the worst part!

Shikamaru sighed and along with the rest, glanced at the one person who hadn't spoken around the fire yet. He felt the headache before it began. How she even found them again went beyond his expertise. And he had told them taking her with them was a bad idea, too.

"I'm Aya Fukusawa! I'm cute, sexy and single." She winked at Shikamaru and Naruto, who exchanged a troubled glance and returned to their food. "I'm good at getting what I want. Currently I want a couple of things, but it's a secret," she said playfully. Then, seemingly changing the subject, she asked, "So… how about a threesome?"

Naruto and Shikamaru reacted quite differently; Shikamaru choked on his food, while Naruto spat it out. As Shizune was tending the poor boys, Aya and Jiraiya were rolling on the floor laughing. "Don't worry," she said, drying a tear. "I'm just kidding… for now. I dunno… it might be hard for you guys to resist my striking beauty, and well, if you lose control of your… urges… I won't mind," she teased, striking an alluring pose. "Oh, I know you'll try to resist my natural grace and feminine charm, but we all know it's useless." Shikamaru shook his head incredulously, while Naruto rolled his eyes. "Anyway," she said to change subject, "since Naru and I are intimate now, does that mean it's Shika's turn?"

All eyes were on Naruto, who was the most surprised of them all, until he remembered what happened two days prior. "Wait a second, we only slept together!" Jiraiya looked proud, Shizune looked horrified, Shikamaru chuckled, and Sasuke lifted up an eyebrow. "I-I mean she only snuck into my bed, damn it! Don't mislead them," he snapped at Aya.

"Wouldn't dream of it; you're doing such a good job by yourself." She giggled, seeing the Genin's disgruntled pout. "Fine, fine… So Shika, your bed or mine?"

Shikamaru yawned. "Seeing that so far you're doing everything right to make me dislike you, I'll have to take a rain check on that. But you did mention a wonderful idea." He grabbed his sleeping bag, and moved away from the fire to rest. Goodness knew the troubles he'd get into in the near future; he'd need a clear mind and a refreshed body to face them all.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

Looking back, Shikamaru really should have seen it coming; Aya tried to sneak into his bed three times overnight. The girl probably thought she was good at sneaking around, but she was still a civilian; she woke up everyone in the camp the first time she tried subtlety. After that they just ignored her. After the second time, the young Chunin bound the girl in her sleeping bag. She became nervous… until she realized he had no intention of actually staying with her in the bed. Unfortunately, Shikamaru forgot about their first encounter…

So one can probably understand why Shikamaru was in a foul mood the next morning. He hadn't slept nearly as much as he had wanted. The only good thing that happened was that Aya eventually went to sleep. Still, he wondered if he shouldn't just let her into his bed next time, if only to get a full night's sleep. His shook his head; if somehow his mother were to learn about this…

"So Shika, what is Naru doing?" Naruto had left right after breakfast, leaving a clone behind.

"Training. Can't you bother someone else? Like Naruto?"

"That's just a clone," she said in a disgruntled tone.

"…or Sasuke?" he quickly added, hopping to cut off whatever remark she wanted to add.

She gave him a shrewd look. "You're probably wondering why I'm not all over him like the rest of the girls you know, right?" Shikamaru showed no reaction, but damn if that girl didn't read his mind just now! "Well, I know his type too well; stuck up, broody, handsome jerk. Seen a lot of them in my school. You and Naru are so… refreshing."

"Uh huh."

Shikamaru's tone had barely changed, yet Naruto flinched and Aya stepped back, a little startled and wondering what she had said wrong. Even Shizune noticed and frowned as the civilian girl unconsciously hid being Naruto. It wasn't killer intent, but the Chunin definitely felt… off. Well good of them to notice! It was their fault Shikamaru felt so annoyed.

"Shikamaru? Are you… okay?" Naruto asked, familiar with his current mood.

"I'm fine," he answered, but no one believed him for a second.

"You look tense," wondered Shizune worriedly.

"Your pig." Shikamaru asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"Tonton." Shizune gently corrected.

The Chunin's eye twitched. "Tonton, is it a summon?" When the medic shook her head, Shikamaru asked, "So… when we found you fighting those sound nin with Tonton in your arms, that was because…?"

"Tonton was injured," she explained. Tonton looked… apologetic? Could pigs look apologetic?

He shook his head "I see…" And these people wondered if he was alright.

The Shadow Clone tried to comfort his friend. "Um, Shikamaru, are you…?"

"I need to train." Shikamaru stated bluntly.

"Oh, oh! Can I come?" both Aya and Naruto asked. For sole answer, the Chunin pinned them with a piercing stare. Aya quickly returned behind the copy who chuckled nervously. "Um, I guess not?" he reasoned.

The young Nara's glance lingered for another moment, before he disappeared with a Body Flicker.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

Shikamaru had to admit training with his father wasn't quite what he had expected. It wasn't simply learning a jutsu like it had been before. It wasn't drills either. It was homework, similar to the squirrel hunting from before. Some were interesting - Shikamaru had never known about chakra sensing animals that weren't summons before. Some were downright impossible, like lasting more than two minutes in a fight relying only on taijutsu. Then there was lie detection, shogi games… pretty good stuff really, aside from the fact that he had to do those against his father.

The part of the training that really struck a chord was the stealth one; he had thought his use of shadows to seal part of his presence had been quite original, but the chakra animal hunting had been so suited to the refinement of said skill that Shikamaru figured he had simply stumbled on another basic jutsu. Then his father demonstrated how he handled stealth and Shikamaru was floored; it was completely different! The realization that each task could be completed his way made it infinitely more fun.

The only problem was that they were quite time consuming, barely giving him enough time to work on his own jutsu theories. Not to say he hadn't make progress in that matter; in fact, he had come up with the Shadow Hand Technique; completely sealing part of the body as opposed to the Shadow Bind that only sealed movement. Furthermore, Shikamaru had made a convenient discovery; he could perform the jutsu much faster and with far less chakra if he gathered his shadow to use instead of creating some with chakra. And that wasn't the best little trick he had come up with!

That being said, Shikamaru's 'training' today consisted of going through all of his jutsu and coming up with strategies to make use of them, while watching the clouds of course. Maybe once he was done, he could even catch up on his sleep. The thought was becoming more and more appealing when someone decided to block his view. He opened his eyes to see… Tonton? The pig was giving him a worried look – that is, if pigs could even do that; he must be imagining things.

"Now, what the hell do you want?" This was probably a female pig, seeing how it went out of its way just to annoy him. "Your friend is probably looking for you. See? Here she comes. How troublesome."

But the sound of the steps didn't quite match. And just to confirm his suspicions, it was definitely a male voice who greeted him. "Nara." Shikamaru closed his eyes in annoyance; nothing good could come from Sasuke seeking him out. "Let's fight," the Genin demanded. Yeah, big surprise, that one.

"What makes you think I'll do that?" Shikamaru asked scathingly. "I don't need to do anything! In case you haven't noticed, there are clouds above; perfect for cloud watching, or napping, or both."

Sasuke gave him a look. "I wasn't asking, Nara," he warned testily.

Unfortunately, the threat worked, because Shikamaru gave him a disgusted glare before getting up and taking a fighting position. The Chunin then groaned, because Shizune's pig decided it wanted to protect him. He sighed; it was one of those days again. He tried to tell the pig to get lost, but this only seemed to anger the pig, who tried to ram into Shikamaru's leg. When he dodged, Tonton turned right back and jumped to bite his hand. The Chunin raised said hand to meet the pig's gaze.

"You realize that pigs don't have teeth, right?"

The pig froze, and looked like it was hurt, to Shikamaru's confusion. Before he could even make heads or tails of the situation, Tonton jumped from his hand to headbutt him. The Chunin fell on his rear, and Tonton moved out of the way to watch the fight, its eyes glaring at him still – clearly that last remark had insulted the thing.

"This is a waste of time," Shikamaru tried one last time. Of course, his remark would have carried a bit more weight if he wasn't nursing the bump he got from the blasted pig; Sasuke's smile attested to that. The Chunin sighed; fighting Sasuke might have been interesting in other circumstances, but in this particular case… "You realize this spar will be over in about two moves, right?"

The Uchiha scoffed. "Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing."

The two shinobi eyed each other, waiting for a sort of signal. It was finally Tonton's snort that started the match. Shikamaru quickly threw down a smoke bomb. Sasuke eyes sharpened, but he didn't think he's need his Sharingan for this. When the smoke cleared however, his eyes immediately turned crimson. In front of him was none other than Uchiha Itachi, slowly rising, looking at him with his indifferent expression. "Well, here goes nothing," Shikamaru said. He cleared his throat and mimicked the older Uchiha's voice. "Foolish little brother, you'll never be able to reach me with those weak attempts. You shame the Uchiha."

"You son of a…!" Sasuke went through some familiar motions, quickly intending to make the Chunin pay for that insult. "[Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique]!"

The gigantic fire jutsu headed straight for the fake Itachi. The man simply made the same jutsu and the two cancelled each other about one meter away from the transformed shinobi. 'Itachi' looked disappointed. "Pathetic. Is that all you have, little brother?"

Sasuke's rage flared anew. "I'll kill you!" he roared, before disappearing in a flash. Shikamaru used his Mind Flicker to find him; he was attacking from the left with a kunai in hand. The Chunin was happy to note that the Genin didn't use his Chidori this time. From then on, it was a simple matter of using a Body Switch to dodge the blow. Sasuke hit the log and looked for his opponent, who was lazily looking at the clouds in his original resting spot.

"I won, you lost. Can you leave now?"

Sasuke blinked. "Running away isn't my idea of winning, Nara." he growled, ready to continue where they had left off.

The Chunin sighed. "'Underneath the underneath,' moron! For someone with the Sharingan… whatever, explaining is too troublesome."

Sasuke decided to give his surroundings a check and sure enough, under the log Shikamaru used for his Body Switch Technique, was a tag. His anger cooled down. Needless to say, if that had been a real one…

"You…! When did you…?"

"You know what the sad part is?" Shikamaru asked, not even bothering to answer that question, "That you actually fell for that. That's Naruto level stupidity right there, only he's actually smarter now." Sasuke glared, but what could he say, he had lost – badly. "I beat you, right? Leave me alone now; I got clouds to watch."

The Uchiha cursed and punched the ground in frustration. Now Shikamaru couldn't care less about the Sasuke's mood; it was the fact that he still hadn't left that was irking him. For that matter, neither had Tonton.

"Uchiha, if I tell you what I know about Itachi, what do you intend to do about it?"

"None of your damn business, Nara!"

Well, since the jerk worded it so nicely… Shikamaru wondered why he even bothered sometimes. "It is actually," he reminded Sasuke, "If you did something troublesome, like get yourself killed with the info I gave you, it would be on my head." The Uchiha snorted, but said nothing, so Shikamaru went on after a pause. "Your current plan is probably to stick to Naruto until Itachi decides to come for him, right? That's a good idea, actually." Sasuke raised his head, but the Chunin wasn't looking in his direction. "Neither you nor Naruto would face Itachi and his partner alone. And chances are low there will ever come a moment where there will only be the two of you to take them on." Shikamaru definitely had the Genin's attention now. "There's a couple of problems with your plan though; Itachi is an S-rank rogue nin and so is his partner… I think."

"And what would you know about S rank threats?" Sasuke inquired sarcastically.

"Not much; Naruto did most of the fighting that time." Again, Sasuke gave him an odd look, which he ignored. "You ask him about it," Shikamaru added, not wanting to stray from the subject. "Your second problem, and the reason I beat you so easily, is that your eyes turn red every time someone mentions the name 'Itachi'.

This time, Sasuke walked over and make sure to block Shikamaru's vision so that the Chunin could see his glare. "I have every right, to hate that man after what he did to me. My problem with him is none of your business Nara, so you'll shut your mouth if you know what's good for you!"

Shikamaru blinked. "I don't give a damn about your past. My problem – which is actually yours, by the way – is that I could beat you with a Transformation Jutsu, a Body Switch Jutsu, and an exploding tag." Shikamaru must have finally gotten to him, because the boy flinched. "You tell me how relevant that is to your damn problem! You have issues Uchiha, the kind that are easy to take advantage of."

There was a staredown. Neither moved for a while, but Sasuke was the first to avert his eyes. "Then what should I do, smartass?"

"How the hell should I know? It's your problem, after all. I only told you so you could be aware of it. After that, you're on your own."

Sasuke almost looked disappointed by that answer. "This is a waste of time," he mumbled.

Shikamaru looked at him with a carefully blank expression. He really wanted to say he told him so, but that would be a bit vindictive. Besides, Sasuke finally got the hint and left. Unfortunately, it wasn't soon enough, so Shikamaru's mood worsened. How could he not be irritated? They were a party of six, half of which were liabilities, and they were supposed to be fighting one of the Sannin. The best case scenario would be them finding Tsunade in good health. Unfortunately, considering all the time that had passed, his forecast was grim.

Next to him, Tonton grunted worriedly.

Yep, definitely a female pig, that one.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

Shikamaru might have been in a bad mood, but Naruto was happy. He had finally started the final step for the new jutsu, and then realized there was an infinitely better way of doing it, thanks to his wind affinity. For all intents and purposes, he had learned the technique, but like for the first step, he wanted to master it the right way, so he kept at it.

Jiraiya was waiting for him when he returned, looking somewhat serious. He turned his head towards the medic.

"Shizune, could you take Aya for a walk?"

The kunoichi looked surprised, but nodded. After the girls left, Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a look; knowing Aya, she had left too calmly. So they both inspected the camp, to Jiraiya and Sasuke's surprise.

The Sannin's head cocked sideways. "Twerp, Brat, what are you…?"

Shikamaru held his hand up as he triumphantly showed them a listening device, surprising the other two all over again. After that, he gave the device to Naruto, who grinned evilly. He took a deep breath, and…

"STOP SPYING ON US, AYA!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, before crushing the device under his foot.

He slapped his hands in satisfaction while the old pervert and the stuck up jerk were giving Shikamaru incredulous looks. "Again, I warned you guys," he scolded.

Jiraiya awkwardly cleared his throat. "So as you know, things are getting serious. Tsunade is a legendary medic, the kind that makes miracles happen; that the Sound is after her is bad news. I know for a fact that nothing short of Orochimaru himself could bring down Tsunade… in her prime. When Shizune and Tsunade were separated, she was fine; something's definitely up. At any rate, we might face a situation where I'd be forced to fight against another one of the Sannin while you'd be fighting his elite force, so I want you guys to up your game to a level where you can at least run away if something happens."

Naruto looked annoyed. By the way Jiraiya had worded that, they were too weak to really be of help. He then remembered his fight with Kohaku; as much as he marveled at his own progress, he wasn't near that level of kickass yet.

"Here's the deal: we're going to spar. Each of you will take on one of my clones; I'll see how long you can last against me and I'll find a proper goal for each of you."

With that said, three shadow clones appeared. The teens looked at each other and nodded before each followed one of Jiraiya's clones. Naruto had barely lost the sight of the camp, before rolling out of the way of an axe kick. He faced Jiraiya, quickly drawing out his blade.

"Well, let's go, brat!"

Naruto decided it was his turn to take the offensive and made three clones, who all attacked in sync. The Sannin's clone needed to increase his speed to keep up; not so much because of Naruto's speed, but because of the timing of his attacks. He tried to get a hit in here and there, but Naruto and his clones were surprisingly nimble.

"I'm glad you took your condition seriously brat," he said, weaving through the blows. He smirked as was forced to stop the kick he had aimed at the clone to his left before the blade infused with wind chakra could cut it. "Well, your reflexes are good for someone aiming to become Chunin. You've got good movement speed, as well." He turned to block a missile dropkick and was pushed a full meter back. "A lot of power behind your attacks too, and that sword… yeah, decent taijutsu, especially with clones around."

The clone then used a Body Flicker to move out of the way. "I already know you suck at Genjutsu, so we'll leave that for some other time. Let's see how you tackle multiple opponents: [Summoning Technique]!"

From the smoke, three human-sized toads came out, each wielding various weapons.

"[Shadow Clone Technique]!" Fourteen other clones joined Naruto's first two. The group huddled together and quickly parted. "Let's do this, guys!"

To say there was some kind of order to the ensuing melee would be a blatant lie. There was a stalemate lasting two minutes or so, before one of the toads used his spear to skewer the nearest clone. The fake Naruto disappeared, leaving behind an exploding tag. Once the ploy was revealed, the rest of them turned suicidal, simply clinging to their opponent; the only ones standing after the series of explosions were Naruto and Jiraiya.

"Remind me to teach you a new jutsu when this is over, Brat. It'll prevent you from using too many exploding tags," the sage commented dryly. However he couldn't help the grin tugging the side of his mouth. "Still, using your clones that well, and with traps too. Twerp's rubbing off you. Now, let's get serious."

Naruto instinctively knew he was about to get his ass kicked, so he made another dozen clones and sent them out. The Great Breakthrough Jutsu wasn't powerful enough to dispel the likes of this clone and the Great Fireball Jutsu was too slow, even with all the distraction, so that left his Wind Chronicles. In the midst of the confusion, two clones prepared the Tornado Upper and Wind Fist jutsu.

Jiraiya had become frightening. He was so fast and deadly that he was able to dispatch the clones and neutralize the concealed tags before they could explode. The Naruto clone with the Wind Fists approached first, trying to surprise Jiraiya like he had done with Hinata, but the Sannin had better reflexes than the Hyuga and evaded the hit as he felt the burst of wind.

"Damn it! [Tornado Upper]!" The Naruto said, only to see a log being shredded to pieces within his technique. He quickly stopped the jutsu to blend within the remaining clones. "Well how about…!"

"Sorry, but this is over."

Naruto didn't even have time to turn and face his foe before he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Luckily, he didn't faint right there, but his body was out of service, and the other clones vanished as well. "O-ouch." He'd definitely feel that one the next day.

"Hm, that was meant to knock you out. Kyubi or not, you've got some stamina to spare, not to mention the fortitude to go with it." Naruto would have grinned if he could. He felt a hand grabbing the back of his clothes and realized he was being carried fireman-style by the clone. "Anyway I've seen enough. Let's go back; the others should probably be done now."

He was right.

The little ways to their camp was enough for Naruto to recover the use of feet, but he'd have time to fully recover anyway; Sasuke and Shikamaru were both unconscious. He was curious about what had happened to them, but Jiraiya's clones had already dispelled, and the old pervert refused to share what he knew.

Thankfully, Shizune and Aya came back around that time, meaning that the recovery of the others would go faster. Interestingly enough, both looked like they had a bit of bad hearing. On the bad side, Naruto was strong enough that he didn't need medical attention, but not enough to keep Aya at bay; the girl used that moment of weakness to latch onto his arm, saying it was for her comfort after someone damaged her ears.

Eventually the other two woke up, so Jiraiya could finally start reviewing their performance. "Well, now that I've had a good look at you, I'm kind of surprised you two haven't made Chunin yet; you certainly fight like you have." Naruto and Sasuke both looked smug hearing that. "That being said, I picked up a few flaws and hopefully, we'll be able to patch enough of them to get you through what's coming next."

He started with Shikamaru. "Twerp, you're the one with the shortest time against me. Considering you're a Nara though, you're doing better than expected. You seem to have come up with a tool or a jutsu to tackle pretty much any situation. Problem is you don't have the stamina, the speed, or the physical fitness to use them more than a couple of times. Also, most of your shadow techniques become less effective after a few uses, so someone who's experienced with your clan has a distinct advantage. You come up with great strategies to offset your weaknesses, but you have to stall for time in order to come up with them; this is often fatal in a high level fight.

"For support, that is more than enough. On your own, you might need more all purpose offensive jutsu." Jiraiya took out a couple of scrolls. "Well most of those flaws you can't really cover by the time we get to Tanzaku City, so I'm giving you these scrolls on seals and chakra theory instead; they're a bit advanced, but I trust you can come up with something using them."

Next was Sasuke. "Princess, you're without a doubt the fastest of the three, you have a good head on your shoulders, and your Sharingan definitely ups your all-around power – when your weakness isn't used against you, that is." Sasuke sneered. "If you're wondering, yes I saw that spar." This time Sasuke turned away, mumbling something Naruto didn't quite hear. He'd definitely need to know about something that made the bastard so flustered.

"You have a good repertoire of fire element jutsu, but only one lightning element technique, and that one is quite draining, too. So we'll do two things; you'll be learning some new moves, and since your body is fit enough now to handle the strain, I'll have you learn how to open the First Gate." Sasuke tried to hide his excitement at the thought of learning something so useful, but failed miserably.

Naruto took a deep breath; it was finally his turn. "Brat, I have to admit, your progress is surprising. You have a decent speed overall, coupled with a good deal of power. You come up with unique battle tactics and you make great use of your repertoire. However, for someone focusing on close range, you're still lacking. You've been using your strengths to cover up your weaknesses though; that's exactly the way to go at it." Naruto beamed; it seemed the help he got from Shikamaru bore fruit.

"The Wind Chronicles are good, but take too much time and chakra to make for the effect they have, so I'll teach you a little trick you can use since you have the stamina for it. I also noticed during our spar that you didn't use summoning efficiently, so we'll find you a familiar. Finally, I'll give you a crash course on Genjutsu, since you need it the most."

Needless to say, Naruto's next few days would be quite busy between the Rasengan, his chakra control, and the new stuff, but he was definitely looking forward to it.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

Tanzaku City was a bit larger than the other two cities Naruto had visited during the mission, partly because the place was built around a formidable castle. The impressive castle had had no owner for decades now. As such, it became a big tourist spot. Naruto had been looking forward to visiting the place during or after the mission, but they had had renovations going on for two months by that point, so he had to forgo that plan. As he was looking around in curiosity, dodging Aya here and there, he noticed Shizune looked apprehensive. He exchanged glances with Shikamaru, who had probably noticed for a while now.

Their silent conversation was stopped by Jiraiya. "Well, we're finally here, kids. Let's see if we can find Tsunade quickly and go home."

Naruto took the bait. "So how do you expect to find her? This place is bigger than Crater City."

The Sannin shrugged. "Just go around the bars and see what we can find."

"You're joking, right?"

"Actually, Naruto," remarked the ever-so-polite Shizune, "that is our best course of action."

Naruto was shaking his head in denial. Jiraiya was simply pulling his leg, right? But Shizune didn't seem the type to lie. So one liked experimenting on little kids, the second was an open pervert, and the last one was a hopeless drunkard? The Sannin indeed! Naruto wondered if he would turn into some kind of degenerate when he was older. Shaking off the gloomy thought, he followed Jiraiya into the first small and quiet drinking place they could find and…

"Hey Tsunade!"

He heard the sound of chairs moving in the back of the place and a woman's voice answered coldly, "Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto slapped his head; even he found the situation ridiculous. Near him, Shikamaru tried to knock himself with the help of the door. As for Jiraiya, he shrugged and stepped aside to let Tsunade in Naruto's line of sight. At first Naruto thought the old pervert had made a mistake. The buxom lady in front of them looked like she was reaching her thirties. There was no way she was Jiraiya's old teammate, yet the demanding tone came from the same direction. Was it some kind of genjutsu? Whatever. He wondered what Jiraiya would say about his mission.

As for the woman, she was surprised to see her assistant in their mix. "Shizune? Were the hell have you been? Don't tell me you went to fetch this pervert here!"

"Actually, I met her on the road while on my way here," Jiraiya interjected before the young woman could answer. "I came here to present you my little juniors. Brat, Princess, Twerp," all three rookies twitched, "meet the third member of the legendary Sannin; Lady Tsunade."

"Hn," Sasuke said.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru added.

"She doesn't look like one of the Sannin to me," Naruto remarked to Jiraiya, which made the woman raise an eyebrow. "Aren't the Sannin all around your age? You're the only one who looks like one, pervert sage."

It was now Jiraiya's turn to slap his forehead while Lady Tsunade scoffed. "You let him call you that? Some teacher you are."

"Shut up!" he muttered, though some would wonder against whom the Sannin had snapped, since he was glaring at Naruto, who glared right back.

That little bit of banter did nothing to lighten the atmosphere, however. "Why are you here, Jiraiya?"

The man walked towards the table and sat down. He looked her in the eyes. "I'm here to tell you that your time is up. Konoha needs you back."

Tsunade frowned. "For what?"

"Oh, this and that," he replied offhandedly.

"Nice try, Jiraiya. We both know Sarutobi gave me permission to take as long as I want to do whatever I want."

"Too bad he's dead then." Tsunade's frown deepened. "Of course, you already knew about that," he added without missing a beat. "The village needs a new Hokage, Tsunade."

There was a heavy silence. And then someone cleared their throat. "Um, what's a Hokage?" asked Aya. The people around her simply stared for a while and then ignored her.

"I refuse," she said, back to the matter. "If the village had listened to me years ago, we wouldn't be having this discussion wouldn't we?" Naruto got the feeling he was missing something here. "Besides, only fools would take this position. My grandfather and granduncle both died for the village and all that got them was was face in stone and a mention in history books. The Third was a fool who got done in by his own student; tell me why again I should take that position?"

"Tsunade…" the Toad Sage warned.

He was cut by a fuming Naruto. "Save it, Pervert Sage, even if she begged for the position, I'd never accept her as the Hokage. Anyone who can call the old man a fool has no right to that honor. Cowards can't be Hokage."

The legendary medic frowned. "Watch your mouth, brat," she growled darkly.

"Troublesome. Besides, women can't become Hokage," added Shikamaru.

"What?" even Aya, who had no idea what a Hokage was, was glaring at Shikamaru, who just shrugged. Luckily, these females were the only ones present.

Sasuke snorted. "This is a waste of time. Let's just get out of here. Kakashi would make a better Hokage than that woman; at least he's not a hopeless drunk."

The three boys looked at each other, and were for once on the same page. As one, they nodded and turned to leave. As they reached the door, there was a loud noise. Turning around, the table Tsunade sat at had disappeared; instead there was a pile of rubble.

"THAT'S IT!" the lady snarled angrily, "Me and you! Outside!" The rookies looked at each other, wondering who had offended the Sannin the most, but noticed she was eyeing them all with equal ire. They looked at each other again.

"No," they all said, which only made Tsunade angrier.

"I'm still a rookie; I'm not stupid enough to fight one of the Sannin,"

"I get my ass kicked regularly by Jiraiya; I don't need someone else to treat me like a punching bag," Sasuke added.

"I'm not fighting a woman again. Jeez, what's with you Sannin always picking on kids like that? What are you? Twelve?" whined the last of the trio.

Next thing they knew, the shinobi teens were all outside in battle position. It wasn't like they had a choice in the matter. The area in front of the bar was now a large crater, courtesy of one pissed off medic. And well, they were outside like she asked. Jiraiya was exiting right behind her. The man looked like he had no intention of interfering. Naruto didn't like this. He looked at his teammates again; a plan was already forming with looks alone.

Naruto stepped forward and shrugged. "…Fine, whatever. Let's get this over with."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You're going to fight me on your own? You're more stupid than you look."

The blond loudmouth blinked. "And you're uglier than you look, old lady. What's your point?"

"You just signed your death warrant, brat," growled the woman, a vein throbbing near her temple.

Naruto sent a dozen of clones after her. The first few tried to hit her, but she dispatched them with devastating counter blows. The next four drew their swords. Tsunade scoffed before shattering one of them with a punch. The other three, hurriedly channeled wind chakra into their swords so the Sannin didn't try that stunt again. This turned things around somewhat, as Tsunade had to be more careful, lest she lose a limb. The last group of clones quickly joined; one even managed to punch Tsunade in the arm, and the woman skidded a few meters back.

She barely looked impressed. "Amateur," she teased.

The clone, a bit peeved, tried another punch. This one was met with one of Tsunade's. The result…? The clone's arm exploded, before the Naruto copy vanished. Naruto's eyes went wide. The blow was so strong that even the other clones were blasted away, leaving a wide pathway leading straight to Naruto. Before the remaining two clones could close in on her, the legendary medic rushed in Naruto's direction and jumped in order to attack him with her trademark heel drop kick.

Naruto cursed, barely having the time to block the hit. But before Tsunade could make contact, Naruto grinned and disappeared, replaced by Shikamaru. The boy was blocking high, his hands engulfed in darkness. The Sannin's foot hit the Chunin, but instead of being crushed, Shikamaru held strong. Both Sannin looked surprised by the development.

"Damn," cursed the young Nara, "even without chakra, she's strong!" His arms were numb and swollen. He had used his heightened reflexes to cushion the blow and still, she had been close to breaking his arms. Moving quickly he grabbed her leg and pushed, throwing Tsunade off balance.

This was just the moment Sasuke needed to attack; he had already flanked the medic and thrown the two spheres of electricity that had formed in his hands.

"[Lightning Element: Thunderbolt Jutsu]!"

The bolts both found Tsunade's left arm. The jutsu wasn't deadly but had an annoying aftereffect: temporary paralysis. The medic was still recovering when she was hit, resulting in her being completely thrown off.

Shikamaru decided to capitalize and quickly went through hand seals to use his Shadow Hand Technique to seal the other arm. Tsunade recoiled in surprise; both her arms were now useless. It was at that precise moment Naruto jumped over Shikamaru, chakra swirling ominously in his right hand.

"Well, let's test this baby out then!" bellowed the teen "[Rasengan]!"

Tsunade decided it was about time to be serious. She stomped her foot, completely changing the landscape and destabilizing Naruto enough that his jutsu fizzled and vanished. She then reeled back her supposedly paralyzed left arm, fully intent on slugging Naruto's brains out. The poor blond saw his life flash before his eyes. Next thing he knew, he was hanging under Jiraiya's arm.

"Tsunade… tell me you didn't just try to go all out on Naruto?" the Toad Sage asked in a frigid tone.

"So? This is three on one, isn't it?" she snapped back, all traces of alcohol gone from her system.

"That last punch would have killed him!" he accused.

"And the Rasengan is just a slap on the wrist, right?" The other Sannin looked a bit sheepish at that. "What the hell are you trying to teach the brat, Jiraiya? Trying to train another hero? Didn't the first two give you enough reasons not to?" Naruto felt like another piece of the puzzle was missing when he saw the ashen face of his savior. The legendary medic faced him next. "Kid, you should forget about learning that technique; it's Jonin-rank for a reason; even Jiraiya here spent three months on this thing."

Naruto bristled at the remark. "That jutsu is…" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. "That's none of your damn business, Aunty."

Tsunade scoffed. "Stubborn little runt, aren't ya? Fine let's make a bet; you finish the technique in a week and I'll acknowledge that you're more than just a stupid runt. I'll even give you this necklace," she said, showing the green crystal decorating her neck.

"Wh—Do I look like a girl to you?" Naruto spluttered indignantly. "You just gave me a whole lot of nothing!"

"Brat, that jewel could buy out one or two hidden villages," interjected Jiraiya.

Shikamaru frowned. "Can he sell it then?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Tsunade looked scandalized. "You wouldn't dare!"

Jiraiya tried explaining. "That thing's a national treasure, you can't sell that!"

Naruto shrugged. "So, whole lot of nothing?" As much as they wanted to say otherwise, the two Sannin had no argument against that. "Besides I…"

He was quickly cut off by the medic. "Fine! If you win, I'll take the position of Hokage."

"I don't want you to become one!" yelled Naruto, earning a furious glare from both adults. "Damn it, just let me finish what I'm trying to say here!"

But she didn't, in fact she wasn't done with the last proposition. "When I'm a Hokage, I'll grant you three favors."

That shut Naruto up. Three favors from the Hokage? This could go a long way into getting his father's stuff. Maybe get Genta and Danzo off his back too. This needed a bit more thought.

"It seems that got your attention," said, Tsunade, pleased with her odds. "If you lose, I want you to give up your dream of becoming Hokage."

Naruto gave her a startled look. "How do you know I want to become Hokage?"

Tsunade looked surprised, then lost, then very sad in less than two seconds. She finally shrugged. "I'm a Sannin; it's my job to know."

Naruto didn't like the situation. He had a strange feeling both Sannin weren't looking at him sometimes. At least he had an idea when it came to Jiraiya; the man was supposed to have trained his father; of course this had to affect him somehow. As for Tsunade… he'd have to get to the bottom of this someday. Nevertheless, the pervert sage's old teammate had made an offer he just couldn't refuse – especially since there was no way he could lose.

Naruto answered the challenge by raising his fist at her. "You're on, lady!"

"See you when you lose brat," she taunted. She then turned to her protégé. "Shizune, we're leaving. I need a drink." And with that, Tsunade left for another bar. Shizune turned and politely excused herself with Tonton, before leaving with her boss.

"I'm coming with!" Jiraiya stayed long enough to give the teens the address of their inn with some ryo for rooms before a going after his old teammate. "Go back without me, kids!"

Naruto counted the cash; there was more than enough there to cover their stay for the next month. He smiled evilly. Jiraiya would live to regret gutting his froggy. Next to him, Shikamaru waited for the adults to be out of sight before asking the question on his mind.

"So… aren't you going to tell them you already completed the Rasengan?"

Naruto scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I can't wait to see her face in the end when I tell her I already came up with a variation of the thing!"

The Uchiha simply shook his head.

"So," said the last member of their group, "What's a Hokage?"

_**The quest for the Fifth Hokage seems far from over! Hang in there Team Oblivion!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**Zanros: And the Legend of the Legendary Sucker continues…**

**A/N: Damn, couldn't have said better myself! And I'm the author! Anyways, the plot thickens next chapter! Also, we'll visit Konoha for a bit. Look forward to the next chapter and please, don't forget to review.**

***N.B. for those wondering… what Shikamaru forgot about Aya was that she has a way with ropes.**

**Also a reminder: The full R&R has been moved to the review section look up the review page of a chapter to find its R&R. If you have a question you'd want me to answer, but not through the R&R let me know.**

**Snipitty snip snip!**

**R&R**

**Rev: first off, definately keep aya in the reviews. she's awesome.  
****Aya: **Yes I am! Thanks for noticing**  
Naru & Shika: ***glares at reviewer*

** R_: also, i'd really like to see her in konoha. the meeting between her and hinata would be great, the amazing love battle over naruto!  
****Naru: ***gulps* Shun…?  
**SShun: **Already planned.  
**Naru: ***slumps*** **figured as much.  
**Aya: **Don't worry Shika, I won't forget about you.**  
Shika: **…I was afraid of that.

** R_: third off, how the heck did she find them at crater city? […]  
****Aya: ***wink* it's a s-e-c-r-e-t.**  
SShun: **It was the closest city; kind of obvious.  
**Aya: ***pouts* spoilsport.**  
SShun: **Now how she found them in /this/ chapter… even I don't know.  
**Naru: **…She's scary like that.

** R_: fifth off, nice attempt at getting aya to fall for sasuke. too bad she already realized you guys are 50000000000000000000000 times awesomer than he is.  
****Naru: **We are…? *looks at Aya's glittering eyes* …You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?

** R_: don't worry naruto, just think of it as training...for life...or...something... and shikamaru...well...you'll live...8D  
*****runs away screaming like a girl*  
****Shika: ***puts kunai back in pouch* damn, they got away!  
**Naru: ***grumbles while cancelling his rasengan*

_**/-/**_

**Rev: I like this story. I only wish that you would've taken longer before Naruto forgave his team.  
****SShun: **You have to remember, Naruto is still the guy that was alone for so long in his life, and Sasuke was his first friend.  
**Naru: **But we're not friendswe were before either, you know.  
**Aya: ***tears*Naruto, you're so kind. *hugs Naruto***  
Naru: **Damn it! Get off Aya!

** R_: And I also think you should've had him lay into Kakashi for not steppin in on his behalf.  
****SShun: **At which point in the story are you referring to?  
**Shika: **If it's for the Genta thing, remember that Kakashi volunteered to retrieve Naruto first.  
**Naru: **Kakashi's been alright, except for, you know not telling me about my freaking parents!

** R_: I also think you should have Naruto and Shika team up and pull a couple of pranks on Kakashi and Jiraiya  
****Naru: **Yes, definitely!  
**Shika: **I wouldn't mind a prank or too either.  
**SShun: **Sure, why not?  
**Naru & Shika: ***Grins evilly*


	42. Uncertainty

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'

Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros**

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**42. The Fifth: Uncertainty**

_**The mission seems already in the bag! Or is it…?**_

Danzo was pacing around his hidden office deep within the Root headquarters. They weren't many events in this old man's life that had worried him. The loss of his prized student and successor Orochimaru had been one, and the Uchiha tragedy had been another. Of course, the event leading to the death of his mentor Tobirama had been one, but he wasn't as… stoic as he was now. This was similar, if only to a lesser extent.

"Does our agent have proof?" For sole answer, he received a scroll. The information inside sent an invisible chill down his spine. _I taught the bastard well, maybe too well_.

It was time to act. The man nicknamed, 'War Hawk' sat down and began writing. He didn't want the Hokage seat now, because there would be too much opposition. But with this, if he could get at least half of the council on his side… "Send for Team Rat; I have a mission for them."

Danzo then nodded in another direction and a presence vanished. It was better to let that fool believed he actually had the edge; he'd be easier to deal with in the long run.

A half-hour later, another man was receiving similar news.

"Oh…? Well, well… how cruel of our partner to hide such information from us," said Genta with a smirk "This might be just what I need to ensure we don't get our Hokage quite yet."

That old war hawk would never think he had a spy in his midst. Such shrewdness was reason Genta had gained his position of Head of council after all.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Shikamaru noted Naruto entered their Hotel only after making sure it was the most expensive one around. He shook his head; he really didn't want to have Naruto as an enemy. The clerk explained to them there were only three rooms left. Lucky for them they were also side-by-side. Instantly the optimal room partition appeared in the Chunin's mind.

"You guys share a room, she has one, and I will sleep in Jiraiya's room."

The only one who seemed fine with that was Uchiha. He ignored Aya's need for mischief and focused on Naruto's only valid point:

"Bu-but we have things to talk about!" the blond whined.

Shikamaru shrugged. "And what does that have to do with sleeping? I'm doing this because I'm sure if I end sharing a room with any one of you, I won't get some shut eye."

Naruto knew he couldn't argue with that, so he grumbled. "Fine, but we talk first…" then, his eyes lit up in an ominous way, "_after_ a five star meal, courtesy of Jiraiya." Shikamaru and the others grinned and followed the blond to the dining hall.

The food was great; Naruto even thought of forgiving the place for not serving ramen. After the meal he roamed the establishment and took a bath with the guys. Fortunately, nothing happened since the male and female baths were on opposite sides of the building. As he settled on Jiraiya's bed, ready for a little chat with his friend, Naruto couldn't help but remember the good times he had spent in such a place months ago. If only it could be like that again.

As for now… the blond watched as Shikamaru rubbed his temple. "When you meant talk, I thought it would be only you," the Chunin stated, looking pointedly at Aya, who was sitting next to him.

"Oh, don't be so mean guys; I don't know anyone else here." The three boys answered with a blank stare; someone outright stalking total strangers had no right to say that. "Yeah, but I _want_ to know you guys, there's a difference," she said, apparently reading their minds.

"And you, Sasuke?" asked Naruto. Of course, Sasuke had also decided to invite himself to this talk and was leaning against the door leading to the hallway. The annoying bastard didn't bother to even answer the damn question! Naruto grumbled and cursed under his breath. "Right," he finally said; getting rid of both the intruders would take too much time. "I'm done with most of my training."

Shikamaru took the statement for what it was. "Yeah, I haven't made much more progress on my part as well, so let's say I'm good."

"So…?" the blond asked, hopeful.

Shikamaru smirked. "Yeah, sure. As long as you're sure you mastered the Rasengan."

Naruto was ecstatic. That wasn't all he wanted to talk about with Shikamaru, but for now this was fine. They would talk about his father and the Konoha council another time.

"What are you guys talking about?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"None of your business Bastard," Naruto answered calmly. Why should he tell him about their planning sessions? The guy always bragged about doing things solo anyway. Of course, by planning, what he really meant was battle tactics and combination techniques. If the Infernal Rave was made with simple C-rank Jutsu, he couldn't wait to see what he could come up with for his Corckscrew Hurricane or the Rasengan.

"Whatever you're doing… I want in," he stated curtly.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then Naruto picked his ear with a finger. "I'm sorry, I think I heard wrong. You're asking to participate _willingly_ in a team?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as if to dare Naruto to refute the statement. "Excuse me, buy aren't you the genius 'I-don't-need-anyone-to-slow-me-down' Sasuke Uchiha, Rookie of the Year?

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm pretty sure whatever we're up to, will probably hinder your style and waste your time."

"Shut it!" Sasuke snapped. "I know you're strong Naruto. And Nara is what Sakura should have been; not as good as us, but smart with great support." Naruto nodded approvingly, happy to have the Uchiha's recognition. Shikamaru snorted; being compared to Sakura was kind of insulting especially when he had done great against both Sasuke and Naruto. "Whatever you're planning, I'm in," Sasuke restated. From his expression it was clear he expected to be welcomed to participate, whether it was willingly or begrudgingly didn't seem to matter to him.

The two other boys shared a look and Naruto grinned. The only other time Sasuke needed something from him was during their mission in Wave Country. He remembered the fun he had getting one up over the bastard then; He was going to enjoy this.

"Well, since you asked so nicely… No."

Sasuke twitched. "Why?"

"Because I said so," was Naruto's smug reply. Watching Sasuke trying is best to control himself was too much fun. "Seriously, you act like a jerk and then expect us to let you jerk us around some more? No dice! Try again when you learn actually ask for something instead of simply expecting people to obey you."

Sasuke mulled over what his Teammate said for a moment. He tried to open his mouth again only to be interrupted by Shikamaru.

"No," said Shikamaru. The Uchiha really looked like he was going to kill someone soon, so the Chunin elaborated. "This has nothing to do with Naruto's stupid reasons." He barely paused to allow Naruto to refute the irrefutable before going on. "You could be a useful asset Uchiha, but we've already been through this." He fixed Sasuke with a knowing stare. "You have something to fix first; right now you're just a liability."

Naruto was surprised his rival visibly calmed down and looked away. "Damn! What did you do to him?" he asked Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shrugged and turned back to Sasuke. "Tell you what; we'll see. Prove me you can actually control yourself and we'll think about it. Besides, you'll need time to train on your own, right? You'll do your thing and we'll do ours. After that, we'll meet – maybe."

Sasuke looked up from Shikamaru to Naruto, who snorted but didn't say anything. He nodded and left the room.

"Hey! What about me?" Aya asked, hopeful.

"Civilian or not, you're not part of the village. You can't see our training so… have fun for the rest of the week," said Shikamaru, quite happy with that development.

"Well that sucks!" she said, pouting. "I need to at least cuddle with someone for a night if I want to go through next week."

Moments later Aya was thrown out of the room.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Elsewhere, Tsunade was slowly downing her cup of sake. To say she was relieved to see Shizune safe and sound was an understatement. If she didn't really show it, it was simply because she had other things to think about. Mainly, how Naruto could act so much like her brother that she mistook the two of them, especially since—

"So, what got your panties in a bunch?" Jiraiya asked bluntly.

Tsunade directed all the animosity she could muster in her drunken state into her glare. "Go away Jiraiya, I'm trying to enjoy a drink here."

"So am I, Tsunade." He said, sitting right next to her without invitation. "You can't blame me for being curious about what happened between you and my protégé, though. So start talking."

Tsunade ignored the question, in favor of remembering that Naruto was around the same age he was when… "How long as he been a shinobi?" she asked instead.

Jiraiya frowned at the change of subject, but decided to reply anyway. "A little over six months."

Tsunade nearly spat her drink. "That's a team of Genin I fought?"

"Well, for the record, the Nara recently got promoted to Chunin."

The Slug Sage decided to throw away her cup and drink the bottle instead. "A Genin learning the Rasengan, a Uchiha in support with lightning jutsu, A Nara who can parry one my blows and doesn't use the Shadow Bind…" that and they had actually managed to get her sober and serious. "What the hell is happening in Konoha?"

Her old teammate chuckled. "Good things and bad things," he answered cryptically. His mood shifted and he became serious. "We need you there as a medic as much as a Hokage. Things are starting to get out of hand." He then blinked, seeing Tsunade was not fully attentive "What's wrong?"

But the medic was already tuning him off. "Damn runt," she mumbled, lost in her thoughts "he doesn't even look like him; why did I say something stupid like that?"

Jiraiya smiled sadly. "He does have the same loudmouth and enthusiasm, does he?" but that only brought the man back to his first inquiry. "In that case I'm even more confused, why'd you try to kill him then?"

"To chase away the ghosts haunting me," she answered between swigs. Tsunade knew she had lost Jiraiya there, he wasn't supposed to understand anyway. "It doesn't matter, that kid will lose the bet, and you'll all be out of my hair soon."

Jiraiya smiled excitedly. "I wouldn't be so sure about that Tsunade. That kid… if there's one thing that's certain about him, it's that he'll surpass his father one day."

He looked proud. The legendary medic remembered very well the last time she had seen that face. She didn't quite know if she had to admire the man for trying or pity him for continuously exposing himself to pain and disappointment. It had only taken two people for Tsunade to become jaded; how many more would Jiraiya need before he had his fill?

"So you just won't give up, will you?" she scoffed, mocking him. "After Minato and the team you trained in Rain Country, you're sending another kid with big dreams on the path to hell? You're heart must be colder than I thought," she finished, sending him a glare.

That glare was returned with a look of disapproval. "Of course I am! Because, like you, I couldn't leave the only remaining link to someone I regarded as a son alone, no matter how much time it took!" She actually flinched at that; she had forgotten this man was Naruto's godfather. "Now, unlike _everyone_ here, he had no _choice_; he has to become strong or he'll die! This world won't let him have it any other way." She had to concede that point as well: poor kid. "And unlike _you_, I will never give up on helping people who want to change the world, because when I do, more and more people will end up worst off then you'll ever be."

Jiraiya seemed more determined as he spoke and sobered up. "I'm glad to do this, because hearing how that kid grew up I'd be a fool to let him on his own now. And as much as I loved the old man and respected him, I'm still not ready to forgive him for not letting me take the kid away from the village. But now that he's old enough, I'll do anything to protect him. And that's why I came tonight."

The atmosphere at the small bar changed and suddenly the small conversations, cheerful songs, the background music… everything froze in fear as the Toad Sage was leaking copious amounts of killing intent. "Tsunade, if you ever join Orochimaru, _I'll kill you_." From his tone it was clear to anyone he was very capable of going through with that threat. And just like that, the oppressive pressure vanished. "Good Night."

If that hadn't driven the alcohol right out of Tsunade's system, nothing could. As if that wasn't bad enough, the old bastard hadn't even taken a sip of the cup the medic had subtly drugged.

Things were getting complicated.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

"Are you sleeping, Dobe?"

"I was trying to, Bastard." No need to mention he didn't feel like sleeping.

"We need to talk," Sasuke said.

Naruto snorted. "Funny, I wanted to talk too; not with you though."

Naruto was still peeved about Shikamaru's room arrangements. If they had shared a room he knew Shikamaru wouldn't be able to get some sleep for a good while, but that wasn't his problem was it? Naruto had so much on his mind right now, not to mention all the new plans they'd had to come up with to deal with things beyond the current mission. Shikamaru probably figured the old pervert sage wouldn't spend the night at the hotel. Maybe the Genius even planned for this little chat between Sasuke and Naruto.

The blond could feel said Uchiha staring through his blanket. He sighed in defeat. "Alright, shoot."

"When did you fight an S rank shinobi?"

That was a question the blond wasn't expecting. Considering they had both fought all of the Legendary Sannin there was only one person he could be referring to, and only one person could have told him about it. "What did Shikamaru tell you?" he asked.

Again, Sasuke looked somewhat embarrassed. "He told me to ask you about it," he answered.

"I see, well I guess I could tell you… if you tell me what happened between you and Shikamaru." There was a story to hear there, maybe a good laugh too. Let it be said Naruto never turned down an opportunity to make fun of his rival. Sasuke's wariness made it all the more appealing. Fortunately, the Uchiha decided the information was worth the humiliation. Naruto managed to keep a straight face through the whole account, but somehow that pissed the Uchiha even more. The blond simply filed the information for later. Much fun could be had from this.

In turn, Naruto gave his teammate an accurate account of what really happened between Team Oblivion and Kohaku Hyuga. He didn't sugarcoat it, and that showed in the way Sasuke was tense learning about such a strong foe relying mostly on Taijutsu. "So," concluded Naruto, "as you can see we got owned – hard. And even now, I think that somehow he didn't want to kill us, or maybe he was tired of running away. It's the lack of will that saved us that night. If he had truly wanted to kill us…" he let that scenario hang in the air.

"And he was only strong in taijutsu," added the blond. "From what I read from your clan, your brother's probably awesome in all three disciplines, and then some.

"You read about my clan?" Sasuke was too shocked that Naruto read another book too be angry at his teammate talking about his destroyed family but not for long. "And what makes you think this is about my brother?"

"Shikamaru," was all he said to answer the first question. It was all that needed to be said really; the second question did not even deserve an answer.

"He's smarter than he looks." Sasuke noted, and Naruto scoffed at that. The Nara heir was as smart as Kakashi when he wanted to, and almost as good at finding flaws as Jiraiya when he needed to. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more the Shikamaru's sheer laziness baffled him. The boy hid his true potential for years, and wasn't really taking his training seriously either, judging by the way he was rapidly growing now, and still he made Chunin before both the current Rookie of the Year and the one before him. Talk about infuriating.

"So he's the reason you're so strong," concluded Sasuke.

"He's one reason," Naruto conceded. However he could see there was something else on the Uchiha's mind. "You got something else you wanted to ask?"

"How do you do it?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked confused so Sasuke continued. "You must hate them: the villagers, the Fourth, the people that hurt you for actually know reason… yet you never show it. It's like you keep your feelings bottled to use only in battle. How do you do that?"

Naruto was even more confused. "I… don't?" he replied uncertainly. "I… I don't know, at first I couldn't help but be angry with the whole village. I really hated all of them. Now, it's kind of hard for me to really hate anyone, you know? Even you."

Sasuke looked troubled. "You mean…? How is that possible? That doesn't make any sense! He said…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Sasuke had brought up a valid point, one he needed to sort out later, but for now there was another detail he wanted to be clarified. "Who's _'he'_?"

Sasuke quickly understood his slip up. "…Never mind," he hastily stated.

Naruto, however, had figured it out. "Wait, you're talking about your brother, aren't you?" he took the silence as a Yes. "Is that... is that why he did… that? …Because he hated his own clan?"

Sasuke neither confirmed nor infirmed his theory, "He told me that he wanted to test his power. And he left me so I could avenge my clan, and to further test his powers."

Again, there was that feeling of missing a piece of the puzzle. Something was off about the whole thing. "I don't get it. Why would he need to test his powers against little kids? What would that prove?" Naruto huffed, oblivious to the weird expression on Sasuke's face. "Man I just don't get psychos. Anyway… I'm not strong enough to help you right now, but when I am… You can bet we'll kick his ass all the way to the moon." Naruto said, back to his energetic self.

Sasuke looked at Naruto in a strange way. "You'd help me?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Naruto grinned. "Sure, that's what friends are for, isn't it?"

Sasuke went mute, before turning his back to his friend. "Goodnight dobe."

"Bastard," he knew Sasuke was listening, so he continued, "I don't know what Shikamaru wants you to fix, but there's one thing I want to be sure of; you _do_ have the seal completely under control, right?"

Silence answered. Naruto shrugged; they both had things they needed to think about it seemed.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Tenten was currently practicing with a bo-staff, her favorite melee weapon. As she went through her various stances she sighed; she was getting bored. Training was all they were doing lately. Gai was either on solo missions ranked B and up, or by Lee's side, which left Tenten and Neji with either D-rank missions or training. The choice wasn't that hard. However, training with Neji was already dull, even with the odd Lee in the mix. Now… Tenten was kind of glad Neji had to spend more time training with Hinata instead.

The weapon mistress finished her last kata to lean on her weapon, wondering in which way she should progress. They were so many ways to enhance her weapons, so many new weapons she could master. Oh, the possibilities!

"Something the matter, Tenten?" asked a familiar voice.

She had to admit her teammate had a good timing. Maybe she could ask for his advice. "No, not at all, Neji; I wasn't expecting you to drop by today though."

"That is because I wanted to talk to you." Tenten lifted an eyebrow. "Shikamaru informed of something I've never noticed before."

The kunoichi remembered the last conversation she had with the boy. He was probably referring to that day at Ichiraku's. The simple memory of Shikamaru's reaction to her question drew a smile from her face. "I see," she said. "Well whatever it was, I'm sure he was probably right about it. He was also probably a jerk about it too."

Neji nodded. "Tenten, do you want to go out with me to dinner?"

"I… what?" Next time she met Shikamaru, she would have to kill him.

"It seemed to Shikamaru you wanted to have a meeting between the members of Team Three in order to discuss about team synergy in order to strengthen the team, but couldn't quite find out how to do it. Let's talk about it around dinner," explained Neji.

Well, maybe she would have to hug the meddlesome boy instead. At least he hadn't alluded to anything she'd kill him for. An extra team meeting was definitely not her idea of a romantic dinner, though. And with Neji being the cold and distant person he usually was… this was going to be a challenge. "What about Lee and Gai?" she asked, to make sure they would be undisturbed.

"We can always invite them to the next meeting. Or the next one after."

Was he hinting at what she was thinking he was hinting at? Tenten fought with all her might to hide her blush. This was getting better by the minute! She nodded. It wasn't what she wanted, but at least there was hope.

"Sure, why not?"

"Very well then; Shall we?"

As they walked towards the Yaikinu, they passed a certain brown haired boy who did is best not to laugh when he saw them together.

"Well that went well," he noted when he noticed Tenten's smile. Of course, they had no idea it everything went just has planned. "I wonder who's next on the list…" his expression turned mischievous as he munched on his onion flavored chips. "Oh, that one looks like fun; let's do that one after training."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

The next morning Shikamaru and Naruto met in a back alley. Interestingly enough, they were many of those poorly frequented pathways in Tanzaku City, which meant it was easy to make several clones and spread them out in case Aya tried to follow them in spite of their request – which she did. Sasuke had been more honorable, seeking Jiraiya instead. So Naruto sent two more clones to keep watch and they finally got down to business.

"So when are you going to tell me the name of the moves you used back then?" started Naruto

Shikamaru blinked, somewhat baffled by Naruto's sense of priority. "Troublesome. The move I used against Aya to scare her off is called Shadow Hand Jutsu."

Naruto huffed. Seriously, his friend had poor jutsu naming skills. Thankfully he had been the one to name all of their combination techniques, or else… "Drop the 'hand'. Call it the Shadow Seal Jutsu; sounds way more badass! I already know what it does, so… Next!"

Shikamaru twitched. "The one I used against Tsunade is called Darkness Hand Jutsu."

The Genin shook his head. Why did he have to use 'hand' again? Where was the flair? Wait a sec! "Why 'darkness'? And why does it sound exactly like the other jutsu?"

Shikamaru smirked; he was probably waiting for that question to be asked. He made a long string of hand seals and gathered chakra in both hands; in seconds both were coated in shadow. "I just made the two techniques right now; care to guess which is which?" To tell the truth, Naruto couldn't. As far as he was concerned both techniques were the same. "It's cool, but not every useful; whatever the techniques do, any self-respecting shinobi would simply try to stay the heck away from it."

It took a few moments for the Genin to process the information and agree with his partner. "What does it do though, that darkness thingy?"

"You of all people should know what it does; you're the one who tested its side effect after all."

"Oh, that chakra eating thing…" The blond focused on his friend again. "Wait, you mean the chakra leech is the _side effect_?"

What Shikamaru did next both amazed and spooked Naruto. He had to admit this was definitely more useful than the simple chakra leeching. Eventually Shikamaru had to cough to get the Genin's attention away from what he wanted to show him.

"This is something I'm almost certain even my dad can't do, so keep it quiet, alright? Now that I'm done showing off, how are the new weights?"

Naruto nearly scowled at that. This new set behaved in an interesting way: the more chakra you put into the weights, the heavier they got. Those he was told to only put on when sparring.

"Those weights are a pain to fight with, I couldn't even hit anything properly with them on; they keep throwing me off. Well, I'm not really seeing how useful they're supposed to be, but I'm getting used to them."

Unknown to his friend, the Genin had decided to train like Rock Lee did. So when he wasn't using his new set of weights, he was wearing the old one. He moved using chakra like he did before, but he lessened the output when he felt totally at ease and could move close to what he could without them. This took a lot longer than when he using chakra, since this wasn't something his clones could train for him. Right now he was a fifth of the first level and was thinking going lowering the output again.

Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, let me show what I've been up to."

Thanks to the time spent with Asuma, Naruto perfected the Corkscrew Hurricane, even coming with a variation of it, called Corkscrew Drill. But really, he wanted to show his friend the little trick Jiraiya had taught him. He made the hand seals and gathered the chakra.

"First up, [Corkscrew Hurricane]!"

Now the blond could say the technique deserved its name. A horizontal tornado came out of his fist. It was only three meters long, but it had a five-meter radius for the width. From the white, Shikamaru could clearly see the tornado was made from cutting whirlwinds. But it seemed Naruto wasn't done yet.

"[Corkscrew Drill]!"

This jutsu looked like the one he used against that armored shinobi, only there was a weaker and smaller version of the earlier tornado coming out of the drill – from the opposite end. Propelled by the wind, Naruto made a fifteen-meter jump in the blink of an eye.

Shikamaru was impressed. The first version of the Corkscrew Hurricane already had plenty of destructive power behind it; adding mobility and speed to the move just made it that much more useable, and dangerous. Of course, the Chunin being who he was, he quickly saw what the real big deal was.

"And what do you call _that_?" he asked.

Naruto grinned. "Storm Mode."

The Genin saw Shikamaru's smile as a good sign. He really had come far. He knew he was far from what he must become, and this was only the start of what he planned for his Storm Mode, but since he partnered with Shikamaru, he could see the tangible evolution. And the best part was he could see it in his friend as well. This was something Sasuke would never understand, the feeling of reaching new heights, but not alone. But he could reflect on the seriousness of that at a later time. Now it was time to be giddy.

"Combination techniques, Go! I think I have an idea," he said mischievously.

Shikamaru smirked. "So do I."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

It was the third day since Tsunade had challenged Naruto to master the Rasengan, and so far things were going smoothly. Aya resigned herself to flirt with Naruto's clones and Sasuke had held his end of the bargain. In fact, Naruto and Shikamaru had completely lost track of him the second day. Today however he arrived to see them exhausted.

"What just happened here?" he asked.

Naruto looked up in a daze. "Ah, well nothing much… just a bit of training." He shook the tiredness away and sat up.

Sasuke looked at their training grounds. Thankfully the duo had opted to do their 'training' outside the town, because destruction could be seen everywhere. Here and there, the terrain looked like Kiba had used his famous Piercing Fang technique to redecorate. Needless to say, the Uchiha was miffed about it.

"I'm here," he announced brazenly.

The members of Team Oblivion looked at each other before Shikamaru said, "I'm too tired, come back tomorrow."

Sasuke had started twitching and Naruto was wheezing in amusement. Bastard really was too easy to rile up sometimes. He decided to intervene as Sasuke started to go through hand seals. That wouldn't do; they really were that tired.

"Lighten up, Bastard. We have time for a little chat," he told him, but his eyes narrowed as he added, "_If_ you did your homework."

Sasuke replied with his ever so expressive "Hn" before he looked at them both. He addressed Naruto first. "I spoke with Jiraiya; he says I'm fine." That was good enough for Naruto, so he nodded. To the Chunin he said, "I don't think I fix 'that' as you call it, not right away. Besides we're not going after him; we're going after Orochimaru." Shikamaru frowned. "I'm working on it," Sasuke huffed irritably.

The young Nara sighed. "I guess I should give you the benefit of the doubt, but I'll say one thing. This isn't something you can fix alone." It was Sasuke's turn to frown. "Well now, it's troublesome, but I guess we should…" Shikamaru froze, before his eye started twitching. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto feared the worse. Did Aya somehow lose his clones without them notifying him? Were they bribed? Steeling himself he turned around to see… "Tonton…? What _are_ you doing here?"

Judging from his appearance, the little piglet looked quite distraught. Naruto cocked his head as he saw Tonton bite Shikamaru's pants in order to drag him away. Naturally, the young boy refused, which resulted in a mule kick aimed at his left shin. Shikamaru yelled in pain and cursed the little creature, which earned him a small headbutt into his other shin. Luckily, Shikamaru was already sitting so he didn't fall down. Naruto however, was rolling on the floor. Finally, Shikamaru gave up and said,

"Apparently, it wants us to follow it."

Naruto got up, dusted his pants and gave Sasuke an apologetic look full of mirth. "Sorry Bastard, duty calls; maybe next time."

The three followed Tonton who, all things considered, was quite fast for a little pig. They entered the city, and headed for the gambling area, but turned left to find themselves near an abandoned park. Not far from there Lady Tsunade and her assistant were facing a group of shinobi. What shocked the blond however, was the look on the victims' faces; Shizune looked completely out of the loop. Tsunade… she was white as a ghost.

"You will quietly come with us Lady Senju," said the apparent leader of the shinobi squad. "We wouldn't the wrong info to fall into the right hands wouldn't we?"

Naruto decided that this little charade did not amuse him. He moved next to Tsunade with the help of a Body Flicker, Shikamaru and Sasuke joining him but a moment later. "Sorry, but the lady's staying; she's supposed to lose a bet to me," he said to the opposing squad, only to notice the familiar looking porcelain mask they were wearing. Upon closer inspection, they were also wearing the standard ANBU uniform; now that wasn't what he expected.

"Do not interfere with this Genin, this is an important matter." The previous voice ordered.

"By whose authority?" Shikamaru asked. "I don't know who sent you, but we have the mission to bring back Lady Tsunade to Konoha as well."

While Shikamaru was busy discussing with the others, Naruto was looking at the still pale Tsunade. "Hey Lady! Why aren't you fighting back?" He looked from her to Shizune and both hadn't moved, let alone said a word. Even Tonton was at loss about what to do with them. Naruto was about to try something else when Shikamaru deflected a kunai headed right for the blond.

Turning around, the blond Genin felt the quite potent pressure coming from the ANBU squad leader. "Don't make kill the lot of you."

"Oh…?" Suddenly, the pressure was drowned in an even more oppressive killer intent. I'd like to see you try." Everyone looked up to see the Toad Sage perched on the roof of the nearest building, actually looking the part for once.

The ANBU's reaction was instantaneous "Retreat." A moment later and they had all left.

"Aren't you going to chase after them?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya dropped down and landed near them. "Nope. I know who they are. Well I don't know who they are, but I know who they're working for." From the way he said that, and the fact that these ANBU were from Konoha, Naruto and Shikamaru had a pretty good idea about that as well. "The question I'd like to ask is to Tsunade here. Why were they after you?"

"What's it to you?" snapped Tsunade, who had apparently recovered from whatever shock she was in. "It seems to me someone doesn't want me to become Hokage."

There was a stare down. Nobody move for what seemed to be hours, but were only a few minutes. "…I thought as much." Jiraiya finally said. "Pack your things Tsunade, We're leaving."

The Slug Sage snorted. "Didn't you forget he and I had a bet?" she mentioned, pointing at Naruto and her.

The man turned his gaze towards him. "Naruto," he said, like a teacher asking for a demonstration.

"…What?" Seeing the Sannin's gaze remained on him, Naruto finally huffed. "How did you…? Fine." The young Jinchuriki faced Tsunade and started to gather the chakra. Her jaw dropped when she saw the familiar swirling sphere of chakra perfectly stable in Naruto's hand. Seeing there was no available target around, he simple cancelled the jutsu.

"You… you tricked me!" she accused, outraged.

"I did not!" Naruto snapped hotly. "I _tried_ telling you tons of time! You just wouldn't shut up and listen for a second!"

Tsunade was about to retort but Jiraiya was faster. He raised a hand and said calmly, "Tsunade, you should pack your things." From his tone, one would mistake his suggestion for an order.

The legendary medic faltered. She paled for the second time today. "I need… give me a day."

Jiraiya gave her a strange look. "Sure, we're not in any hurry. We'll leave tomorrow."

Tsunade nodded and left. Looking at her stride, something was definitely wrong, Shizune, being the polite girl she was, excused herself and headed after her mentor. Naruto had a bad feeling about the situation. It wasn't like Tsunade dreaded going back to Konoha. From what he saw at that bar, the memory of her hometown angered her more than anything. But as she left, Naruto had the impression of detecting fear…? Or was that worry on her face? He shrugged; hopefully this could wait until they made it back to Konoha.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya. "So you knew? And you didn't tell her?"

The man shrugged. "I'm a ninja, not a saint." Naruto shrugged, while Shikamaru and Sasuke nodded in approval.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

After that little bit of excitement Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke gathered in the Nara's hotel room, discussing battle tactics and strategies until Aya decided she had spent enough time alone for the day. She barged in the room demanding attention. Naruto and Shikamaru decided to roll a dice in order to find out who would be stuck with her. The fact the Shikamaru lost, even with a loaded die, disturbed the poor Chunin to no end. As for the blissfully unaware Naruto, he left his friend to his fate, told Sasuke he had to talk to Jiraiya and set out to find said man.

A half-hour later, the Genin found his godfather enjoying a cup of sake on a rooftop. Naruto thought it a bit unusual until he realized they were in the red light district, and the old pervert had a nice view of the most expensive love hotel in the area. He even had a note pad and a pen at the ready. He shrugged. The man had admitted he was a huge pervert; might as well get used to the fact.

Naruto simply sat near the man, refusing to even look around him, for fear of losing the small part of his innocence he had left. Instead he split his focus between the paved roof he was currently on and the setting sun to his right.

"Something the matter Naruto?" Jiraiya finally asked. And something definitely was considering Naruto had yet to make a remark on his current activities.

At first he said nothing. He seemed lost in thought. But as Jiraiya returned to his 'research', Naruto steeled himself and took a deep breath. "Tell me about my mom," he finally asked.

The sage looked at the boy. His lecherous grin had disappeared, and he now had a more solemn expression as he sat next to him. "You're your father's splitting image, but you have your mother's mind – down to the quirky catchphrase." Jiraiya now wore a sad smile. "She was full of life and easy to anger. She was known as the Red Hot Habanero. You kind of fight like her too. You prefer a frontal assault but you're tricky about it. Though, because she was a full Uzumaki, she had chakra and stamina to spare – even more than you have."

Naruto smiled, learning that he had so much in common with his mom. "So that's why I'm so awesome! My mom must have been an awesome shinobi!"

Jiraiya nodded, becoming somewhat serious. "It goes beyond that Naruto. Your mother… was the previous Jinchuriki." Naruto's heart went to his mom at the news. He could only imagine how hard life must have been for her at the time. "In fact, all three of the Nine Tails jailers so far have been Uzumaki. The other one and first container of the Kyubi was Mito Uzumaki, the First's wife."

This news sent Naruto into deep reflection. "So he had a lot of reasons to choose me…" He knew his father wouldn't have simply sealed a demon without thinking it through. Now he had the reasons… or at least part of them. He would have dwelled on that some more, but Jiraiya was continuing the characterization of his mother.

"Also, your mother was a genius at sealing arts. To tell you the truth, no one to this day could tell whom, between your mom and your dad was the ultimate sealing master. Then again, your father didn't come from a clan known for their mastery of the art."

"You want me to pick up fuinjutsu?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Was I that obvious?" The Sannin drawled impishly.

"I'll think about it," promised Naruto, as he got up. He then faced his godfather. "Thanks, for telling me." And with that he left to head back to his room, he had a lot of stuff he needed to think about.

"It's me who should thank you… for letting me tell it to you in the first place." Jiraiya said quietly, as he watched the retreating form of the legacy left by the man he considered a son. He snorted; now his mood for peeking was all gone. At least the sake was already here.

As Naruto neared his hotel a sudden thought struck him.

…_Wait a second, does that mean that old lady and I are related?_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, an exasperated assistant was dragging the Legendary Sucker to her hotel room. The medic had been drinking since she had left Jiraiya's company – and that was a little bit in the afternoon. Now the sun was almost gone, and Tsunade wasn't in the mood to slowly savor her drink. The aging woman was still sober enough to recall how she behave at those times and often she wondered how Shizune could suffer through it all without leaving her, or resort to drinking herself.

Eventually, they reached the room and were nearing her bed, just what she was waiting for. This routine had been so ingrained into Shizune's mind that Tsunade's hand full of healing chakra had ample time to reach her forehead before the young woman could react.

"Lady Tsunade, what are you…?" she tried, desperately struggling against the sudden wave of dizziness. But soon enough their roles were reversed, as the Sannin was now the one to drag Shizune and lay her on the mattress. She made sure her assistant's breathing was regular before heading out the window.

Guilt slowly built as she was looking at her, so she shook her head and opened the nearby window. "I'm sorry Shizune," she said before leaping out.

Tsunade rushed out of the city as quietly as she could. Then it was a three-hour run at top speed to reach a quaint little place. She stopped in at riverbank, carefully eyeing her surroundings. They were two noticeable features about this place. One, there were no trees around, which was quite rare in the Fire country, especially near a river. Two, was the small cliffs on each side of the river. I could have almost been called a valley, if not for the fact the elevation was not as pronounced.

The medic tensed, feeling she wasn't alone anymore. As if to confirm her impression, the sound of cruel, predatory laughter assaulted her ears. She turned up to see five cloaked figures standing on the top of the nearby rock formation. The one further back was still laughing. Over the years, she had come to dislike that sound. It took only a few weeks to turn that into deep hatred.

"Orochimaru," she spat, her voice nearly as poisonous as he was.

The Snake Sage stepped in front of his group and pulled the hood from his head, and she saw his smile twisted and full of malevolent glee. "Well, well, if it isn't my dear benefactor."

_**Tsunade? Conspiring with Orochimaru? Things are looking Bad for Team Oblivion!**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/ **_

**A/N: Dun dun DUN! Yeah, I wonder why nobody the popular fics I read never have Tsunade working for the other side. Now, before you go out and *dodges kunai* Hey, that wasn't nice. Well, if you're that mean, I'll just leave to simmer with that cliffy. *cough***

**Chapters 1-3 have been tweaked, and I want to thank Wyrd Darcnyzz for the second proof read on the last chapter. Fighting next chapter, look forward to it! R&R is up as always**

**Also, KageFuego4; thanks for the review and please, continue with your fic. We need more Shikamaru fics around here! And I think that's all for today. See you around!**

**Snip Snip**

**R&R  
**

**Rev: Is the Shadow Hand technique similar to the Shadow Constriction technique? Also, when are you going to have Shikamaru learn the more solid Shadow techniques[…]?  
Shika: **No to the first question, and for the second question, I already started using them, Well I learned them a good while back and I only used Shadow Sewing for the moment.

** R_: ****I can't WAIT so see Naruto use the Exploding Shadow Clones. Vicious grin A good lesson to teach Naruto: "There is no problem which cannot be solved by a suitable application of high explosives." - William W. Hughes.  
SShun: ***Grins*  
**Naru: **That sentence is so awesome and so true!  
**Shika: **I definitely approve.  
**Aya:** Hmph! Men!  
**SShun & Naru & Shika: **…  
**Aya: **…What?  
**SShun: **You need to meet Tenten.  
**Naru & Shika: ***nods*

** R_: ****"The Great Breakthrough Jutsu wasn't powerful enough to dispel the likes of this clone and the Great Fireball jutsu was too slow" Geez, big oversight on Naruto's part. […] He could have won if he'd bothered to use them properly.  
SShun: **I agree to a certain extent. There's a point of sheer speed and power at which even strategy becomes meaningless.  
**Naru: **Guess who he's talking about.

** R_: ****Not really fair, Naruto entering into a bet he's already won, but with the way Tsunade has acted, I can't say I blame him.  
Naru: **Thank you! That old lady had it coming!  
**Aya:** Now Naru, don't be like that, you have to treat a lady right. Then you get to have… rewards.  
**Naru: ***sweats*  
**Aya: **come on, let me show you.  
**Naru: **Shun! She's molesting me again!

_**/-/**_

**Rev: I like the story, it took me a while to read it entirely. I am not fond of the Fanon "Civilian council that have's so much power to underail and do what they want on a military village". But at least this is, well, entertaining.  
SShun: **There is no Civilian Council. You'll see what I mean in a few more chapters.

** R_: ****I am not fond of the OC, especially now that she seems as a permanent inclusion on the team.  
SShun: **About that…  
**Naru & Shika: ***groans*  
**SShun: **She's a permanent addition to the story, yes. But not so much the team… for now anyways.  
**Naru & Shika: **Phew!  
**Aya: **What? No fair!


	43. Unexpected

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'  
Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros!  
**Also, we got an awesome cover pic! Many thanks to **Damatris**!

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**43. The Fifth: Unexpected**

_**Tsunade and Orochimaru! What is the story behind this meeting?**_

Orochimaru.

The Snake Sage, the leader of the Village hidden in the Sound, the mad researcher, the perversion of nature. Many names to describe the man that wasn't quite human anymore – he wasn't quite a _man_ anymore. His quest for immortality and the ultimate truth led him to become the monster that was in front of Tsunade. It was kind of weird, but seeing Orochimaru's pale complexion in the moonlight, he didn't look that different from the withdrawn, scrawny Genin he was before.

Maybe the blonde brat was right: Jiraiya needed to find himself a secret to rejuvenation and join the 'forever young' club.

The 'man' looked down on the medic from atop the rocky hill. "You're late Tsunade." He remarked haughtily.

"Jiraiya was there," the medic growled rather loudly. As if the bastard hadn't known! She knew Orochimaru enough to figure he had sent shinobi to keep tabs on Shizune.

He shrugged. "But that's not my problem now, is it?" Tsunade glared as he smirked playfully. He then yawned. "Anyway, it's time for my pupil's final healing session; I hope you're ready."

She wasn't. She didn't want to do this at all, but what could she do? As much of a bastard as Orochimaru was, he had beaten her. No his assistant had beaten her, and she still couldn't get over _that_ particular humiliation. And besides that… She had no choice, so she nodded.

Next to Orochimaru and Kabuto, who had revealed himself at the same time as his master, the third cloaked person took off his hood to reveal and young white haired boy looking no older than sixteen. He was slender and looked somewhat sickly judging from his slight discoloration. But the fact that he could come here without all the apparatus he had when she first saw him told of Tsunade's medical prowess. More importantly, the two red marks on his forehead identified his clan and his bloodline limit; one of the most dangerous there was.

He was Kimimaro of the Kaguya Clan.

Kimimaro and Kabuto slid down the hill. They both greeted her with a "Lady Tsunade," before the teen turned his back to the medic. She snorted. When they had first met, the boy only called her 'trash', but since she was healing him, and most importantly, since she had healed Orochimaru, she was worthy of having a name apparently.

Tsunade sighed and coated her hands in the green chakra so well known in the medical world. She pressed her hands on the Kaguya's back, in order to make a short diagnosis and make sure the previous treatment remained, before resuming the destruction of the virus that plagued the boy. This was a delicate task: she had to destroy things much smaller than cells without harming the cells themselves or at least something to that effect. The virus was lodged in the heart and lungs of the patient.

"Amazing," commented Kabuto, his gaze mysterious behind his glasses. "I admit that I call myself a genius when it comes to medical disciplines, but watching you, I feel like a rookie again."

Tsunade ignored the pretentious brat and focused on her task. "Where are they?" She yelled.

This elicited a disturbing laugh Orochimaru. "Here of course," he said, gesturing towards the last two silhouettes behind him, one as tall as he was, one short enough to be considered a child. "I can't have them stay too far from me can I? You might want to try to harm them. And they call _me_ twisted."

Tsunade snarled, but said nothing. She had to focus. And maybe, _maybe_ this nightmare would be all over. After something like an hour, Tsunade swiped away the sweat from her brows. All could see the teen looked like the picture of health. The medic turned towards her former teammate. "I'm done; release them now Orochimaru!"

The man shot her a look of mock horror. "Why, my dear Tsunade; that would kill them!"

"I don't care, as long as they're free from _you_."

Orochimaru smirked, and then signaled the cloaked figures to move. The mysterious people obeyed, slowly approaching Tsuande. As they neared the Slug Sannin she instinctively flinched. She hadn't wanted to see them like this… never like this! And yet, when they took off their cloaks it was them she saw. Her two loved ones, now two souls bound to Orochimaru.

Dan Kato and Nawaki Senju.

If someone had told her three months ago she'd be reunited with her loved ones, she'd laugh at them. If that same someone told her she would live to regret it, she would have knocked their head off; then of course she'd have to hunt that person down for giving her a _winning streak_ of all things.

It all started when Orochimaru and her assistant had come seeking her help. Apparently killing their old mentor wasn't without consequence for the Snake Sannin, because just one look at his arms and Tsunade knew they were now useless. Of course, she had forcefully sent them on their way; as much as she held Hiruzen and the Council responsible for Dan's death, she still respected and liked her old teacher. But then they had made her an offer she couldn't refuse, or so they thought.

If it weren't for that thrice-damned assistant of his, Tsunade would have killed Orochimaru. Unfortunately Kabuto was well versed as a medic nin and quickly saw through her ploy. After that, he had proved to be a respectable opponent for an untrained and sluggish member of the Sannin. Even more frustrating, Orochimaru had apparently told him about her trauma surrounding Dan's death, because next thing she knew there was blood everywhere. She was only grateful Shizune hadn't been there to see her in that pathetic state. But they hadn't killed her then; no, what awaited her only made her wish they did.

When she next came to, it was to the sight of Dan and Nawaki impassively torturing her. Her pleas and cries fell on death ears. And when she had thought this was simply Orochimaru's twisted sense of humor, that it was a genjutsu or people made simply to look like them. Kabuto gave them back their free will. Needless to say, Dan and Nawaki were horrified. Tsunade was jaded and hadn't much more to live for besides Shizune, so a little bit of torture leading to a painful death was unwelcomed, but nothing she couldn't stoically accept. But this… she couldn't… to see them in pain because of her… always because of her and her curse…

She treated Orochimaru.

Orochimaru had promised to free them after his treatment. Tsunade hadn't believed him of course. She was desperate, not stupid. Since she needed to be in decent health to be of help they let her recover. She bid her time, waiting for a chance to strike. She was rewarded for the treatment with some time spent with her loved ones. They met and they all agreed about what should happen; Tsunade had to kill them. The two were very understanding of the fact; they were the ones to convince her of its necessity… well, Dan was really; Nawaki was acting like a brat and bemoaning dying a virgin again.

Unfortunately, they had neglected an important detail. Kabuto – or rather Orochimaru now that he had his arms back – had made them immortal. And no, the seal inside their heads did not cancel the jutsu; it only turned them into mindless slaves. She learned that the hard way.

Of course, the slimy bastard took the opportunity to require for another favor if he was to free them. He had only promised their lives for his arms, after all.

And now it had come to this present moment.

The Snake the Sannin laughed his damnable laugh. "Don't worry I'll free them," he crooned, "And by that I mean I'll break the contract; They'll have their free will and live forever," Tsunade eyes widened at the implication, but the Snake added for good measure, "You'll never have to fear losing them again.

To have them back for good… Tsunade sighed and braced for the other shoe to drop.

"All you have to do… is to accept Jiraiya's offer." The Bastard had a one-track mind, she gave him that; Orochimaru must have noticed her murderous glare because he said good naturedly, "Don't worry. It won't be so bad. I'll even let you choose the survivors."

Tsunade shook her head in disbelief. She knew he hated his old mentor, but to hate him that much… "You truly want to destroy Konoha?"

"And you'd stop me?" to her surprise, he was sneering. "After all they've done to you? They're the reason we're here today, aren't they? But if destruction is too much for you, I have no problem with dominion."

Yeah, like that would happen. This was it, her limit. She could forsake her honor and spend the rest of her like drowning her guilt in sake if it meant to be reunited with Dan and Nawaki, but to spit on their dreams so blatantly? Even if Orochimaru decided _not_ to be a lying prick and actually went through with his part of the deal she would never be able to look at her loved ones in the eyes. She looked at them one last time. No matter how traumatic and painful was their reunion, seeing them here next to her did some good to her. It strengthened her resolve.

She would die trying to kill Orochimaru. The thought spurred her into action, and she lunged with a war cry, intent to punch a hole through Kimimaro's chest. The young boy barely looked surprised, but he was too close when she struck, so he was sent flying. Not that it did any good; the only thing off about the Kaguya when he got out of the dent he left on the opposite side of the river was his slight daze.

Orochimaru's second in command took a defensive stance while Orochimaru let out his familiar chuckle.

"Ah Tsunade…" sighed the Sannin, looking almost contrite. "Always one to rush into things, like that fool Jiraiya," he finished with a hiss. "You act like you have a choice in that matter."

Following the implied command, Kabuto stepped forth. "My, my Lady Tsunade. Do we have to go over this again? I'm pretty sure it'll end just the same." And this time he made sure not to underestimate the legendary medic, because he immediately cut his forearm in order to spray his blood on Tsunade.

The effect was instantaneous. The woman's eyes started to glaze and her body to tremble. She stumbled back, but remained standing. Barely. Kabuto's vindictive smirk was quite sinister as coated his hands in medicinal chakra, no doubt to incapacitate the already weakened Sannin. He wasn't the kind to underestimate a known threat however, so in a burst of speed he aimed for the heart.

At the last conceivable moment, Tsunade's left arm moved like a whip, grabbed the surprised Jonin by his outstretched right hand and pulled, dragging the man off balance and crushing his wrist at the same time. Kabuto had only the time to elect an eloquent "Wh-?" before he was slugged with force of freight train. He skipped on the water like a polished rock, before his face hit a rock on the other side of the river, and he tumbled, smacking right into a Kaguya completely taken off guard and into the opposite cliff.

Well, that would give her a bit of time, and frankly, that felt quite liberating.

Orochimaru could only blink in mild interest. "Oh…?"

Remembering the bigger threat, Tsunade turned her unsteady glare towards her former teammate. "That's as far as I go with your petty machinations!"

"And then what, Tsunade?" The mad scientist asked back mirthlessly. "Were you hoping to somehow join your loved ones? They're here, under my power, if you had forgotten. You may die alone if you wish. I've gotten more than what I wanted after all."

Orochimaru probably though he had all the cards in his hand. Time to show how good was her hand then. "Good for you, but your arms will grow useless again." The Snake Sannin looked half confused, half outraged. Tsunade thought an explanation were in order. "The only thing that makes them usable is my chakra in their coils. Whatever Sarutobi did to you is permanent; I can only give you a temporary fix. For this, you need me _alive_. And the same goes for that sick brat you brought me to heal!"

Orochimaru's expression became quite vicious as he hissed the next words. "It's seems I need to remind you who you're dealing with! Nawaki! Dan! Time to play."

"Sis…"

"Tsunade, I…"

They couldn't say anything else as the mind jutsu overrode their consciousness. She had wanted to tell them a last farewell, to apologize to them. As things were now, she'd have to do so in the afterlife. She hoped Orochimaru wouldn't keep them out of spite. Maybe Jiraiya would free them once he killed the bastard. There was no doubt she was going to die here. She was outnumbered five to one and though she was powering through her hemophobia with sheer guts, she still wasn't near her top shape. Still if she had to die…

"Bring it, Orochimaru." She said defiantly "I'm done living in the past. I'm prepared to die. Are you ready to lose your arms?" his sneer made her smirk. "You'll be losing them in a matter of days."

Orochimaru was about to retort when they heard some clapping. Tsunade turned towards the hill on the opposite side of the river. Four figures were standing there. One was nodding like a teacher. The one next to him was leaning against the edge, scanning the area in order to formulate a plan accordingly. The third one was staring intently at Orchimaru. The fourth one, the one who had clapped, well… there was no way she couldn't recognize that wild mane of a hair.

"Good to see you're on the winning side, Princess, I'd hate to off someone so well endowed."

Tsunade snorted, "Pervert." But in truth, there was a small tug at the corner of her lips. She was somewhat relieved he had come back to call her by her old moniker. If she had to die today, at least she would part on good terms with her old friend. But with Jiraiya here… she definitely had a chance to live through this fight.

Her chances of survival after the fight though? Well, she hopped Jiraiya would be in a forgiving mood by then.

Suddenly the whole area was plunged into killing intent. Jiraiya fixed Orochimaru with a piercing glare. Sparks were definitely about to fly. And she was stuck down here with blood all over her.

_Some people have all the luck_, she thought morosely.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

The pressure was increasing to incredible levels. Shikamaru felt sick. Naruto and Sasuke were better off, mainly because the Uchiha had already felt something of the same magnitude before and Naruto… Let's just say the sinister aura of the Kyubi was infinitely worse on a _good day_.

Jiraiya was wearing an ugly scowl. His glare was making the rookies nervous, and he wasn't even looking in their direction; all his anger and hatred was exclusively for his former teammate. The Toad Sage started to gather chakra into his right hand. On the opposite cliff, Orochimaru was smiling, but his sinister eyes were betraying his intent. To respond to the oncoming threat, the human snake drew the infamous Kusanagi from his body.

There was a moment of painful silence and everyone, even the two controlled zombies stopped to watch.

"Orochimaru!"

And that was the signal to open the hostilities. Both parties leapt from where they stood, leaving gaping holes behind. The next moment, the two were twenty feet above the water. Jiraiya's rasengan – who seemed on a whole new level seeing as it _shimmered_ – collided with Orochimaru's legendary sword quite violently. The resulting shockwave threw Naruto and his companions to the ground. Looking up, the two Sannin were inside what he considered to be a dome of pure chakra.

They still suspended in the air when the light show ended. As they started falling, Jiraiya flipped in order to parry a sword slash with his sandal; Orochimaru's slash clearly intended to cleave him in two. He completed the vertical spin and tried to incinerate his opponent with a well-aimed fireball. Orochimaru's head swerved unnaturally while he retaliated by sending snakes coming out of his left sleeve. Jiraiya changed the direction of his stream of fire in order to counter the threat and twisted sending his hair – now three times as long and hard as steel – to collide with the next sword strike. Finally, they traded blows and used the recoil to separate and land at the opposite sides of the river.

As they got ready for round two, Shikamaru reluctantly shook his head. As awesome as this fight had become after only five seconds, Lady Tsunade was still in trouble. They had Shizune with them and she was already next to her mentor, but the assistant medic was having trouble dealing with the people attacking Lady Tsunade moments ago. He shook Naruto, who was still entranced by the display of pure skill and said,

"Let's head for Lady Tsunade!"

Naruto eventually stopped staring and nodded. He nudged Sasuke who grunted but still followed them and slid down the hill. The young Chunin, signalled his teammates to follow him, but they were stopped by a series of sword strikes. Shikamaru thought it was a metal sword, but the unnatural white weapon he was carrying was definitely a bone.

"You won't pass, trash," he affirmed impassively.

"Heh, try us!" goaded Naruto.

And Kimimaro obliged with a volley of bone bullets. The three rookies scattered. They braced themselves for the next attack when they heard a voice; "Remember your master's plan!" That order came from Kabuto, who was already on the other side of the river, and judging by the smirk he was wearing, also in combat shape.

Shikamaru made a decision in a split second. "Sasuke, you handle him on your own!" he said jerking his head in the bone user's direction. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow and waited for Shikamaru to explain, which he did. "Orochimaru has a plan; it doesn't involve Naruto and it certainly doesn't include me, that means you're the only one with the absolute certainty of fighting him and _live_. Over there," he added, pointing at the other struggle on the other side of the river, "it's now three against two, and from what we've seen, Lady Tsunade is currently in shock. If you have some other insight I'd be glad to hear it." He also made a coded hand sign that meant Sasuke had to bail the moment things were getting too dangerous.

"No, I'm good." The prodigy was looking forward to testing his progress with a new threat. Still he glanced at his companions and said. "Good luck."

Shikamaru and Naruto blinked and looked at each other at loss for words. Finally, the Chunin snapped out of it and said, "Right, take care."

"Give him hell, Bastard!" said Naruto as he joined Shikamaru.

Sasuke snorted. "Naturally."

Kimimaro gave them a strange look. "You seem to think you can get past me," he mused, his hands already outstretched and ready to send more of the deadly projectiles.

"Obviously," answered Team Oblivion. The two of them rushed ahead. Kimimaro, ready to intercept the two, switched to defense instead, taking the brunt of the fireball headed his way. When it was finally safe for him to open his eyes, the two other teens were already gone.

In front of him, Sasuke smirked cockily. "Shall we?"

Kimimaro frowned.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Shikamaru and Naruto arrived in the middle of a fight that was rapidly turning one sided. Tsunade was barely holding it together and piling up the superficial injuries; it seemed Orochimaru had taken to heart the threat of the medic nin. Shizune didn't share that luck; Kabuto was focused on her, and he was clearly the better of the two. On top of that she kept being distracted by one of Lady Tsunade's opponents; her eyes sought the white haired man every now and then, ignoring another her opponent who was quite dangerous even for a focused shinobi.

The first order of business was to give the two a bit of a breather, which Naruto did by sending three clones to stall Kabuto, the most potent threat, and assist Shizune. Shikamaru was hesitant to relocate the battle because they were currently in the open; being back to the cliff wasn't appealing, and having their backs to the river was a definite no-no. There was simply no way to come up with a sure-fire plan. He needed information first.

The Chunin approached Lady Tsunade and asked, "I understand these are your former loved ones from what Orochimaru said, but why is Shizune…"

"Dan's her Uncle."

Shikamaru blinked. "Troublesome."

This drew a snort out of the medic nin. "And here I was starting to forget you were a Nara."

Shikamaru gave her a look, but quickly returned to the battle at hand. He knew for certain the former loved ones couldn't stay here, since two people were uncomfortable because of them. Fortunately, the Chunin had the perfect jutsu to drag them away. He made a rat seal and activated his Shadow Bind Technique. The two inconveniences were fighting near each other; this made what he was about to do much easier.

Shikamaru rushed towards the white haired stranger, who was busy antagonizing a clone of Naruto. He punched the man, who naturally blocked, and as he immobilized him, extended his shadow from his captured prey to catch the small blond one.

"Shadow Bind success!" he said, gathering the attention of Kabuto, but most importantly that of the real Naruto. "Naruto, plan D!" The blond immediately made two more clones and headed towards his direction. He turned towards Tsunade and Shizune. "I'm taking care of these two with Naruto. You take care of Kabuto."

"Wait!"

"Whatever you want to say tell it to Naruto!" he told Shizune, "He's leaving all his clones with you!"

Shikamaru and Naruto nodded to each other and as they left, the real Naruto subtly switched with one of his clones.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Sasuke ducked under a swipe aimed to gut him, turned sideways, dodging the stab that came next and rolled out of the way of the bone bullets. Now that he moved out of reach again, Sasuke dictated the pace with his tools and fire jutsu. It was a stalemate really, with one gaining an advantage according to the fighting range.

"That's interesting bones you have there," commented Sasuke. He hadn't been harmed so far, but he could fell his little friend was holding back on him.

"I could say the same for your eyes Uchiha." The teen replied back, which was ironic because Sasuke eyes had yet to turn crimson.

"So I'm not trash anymore?" he sent a fireball at his opponent who had taken care to dodge his fire now; super bones or not, burns still… burned; Kimimaro's tattered clothes and charred skin could attest to that.

"Master Orochimaru has seen your worth. He will give you purpose, he will give you strength."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his pupils became red. "Sorry, but I'm no one's tool: not Orochimaru's, and certainly not _his_." He had talked to Jiraiya about the nature of that seal and its effects. Giving him a seal meant to ultimately control him was far from purposeful. That and that talk with Naruto had left him with questions… and he needed answers. Answers he could only find in Konoha.

"Very well." Markings Sasuke identified as the activation of the curse seal appeared on Kimimaro and he drew a sharp bone from his shoulder. "[Dance of the Camelia]."

Sasuke was glad he unlocked his Sharingan; he wouldn't have survived the first blow – or the following ones. The fact Kimimaro had called it a dance was appropriate and it required an equally elaborate dance consisting of parrying and dodging to survive until the Uchiha found a moment to escape the Kaguya's deadly range. After deflecting a blow from his left, back flipping over a leg swipe, swaying in midair to evade a stab to the heart, Sasuke blocked the next blow, which gave him the much needed opportunity to use the recoil and jump away.

The Uchiha looked at himself. He had many cuts around most of his vitals. And his favorite dark shirt was now officially good for scrap.

"Whatever happened to the purpose your master gave me?"

Kimimaro shrugged. "I have yet to see your worth for myself, Uchiha."

Said Uchiha decided the thought had merit.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

"Well this is certainly a troublesome pain in the ass," summarized Shikamaru.

These zombies or whatever, had so far recovered from a kunai to the head, an explosion, and from is Shadow Constriction Jutsu – The child that is; the white haired man who seemed to be a proficient fire jutsu user, they hadn't even grazed so far. The nagging feeling that he felt the two were trying to hold back as much as they could even through the mind control wasn't helping. Luckily one Naruto clone was enough to stall the small undead. Unfortunately they already lost one clone to the older one.

"These things won't stay put!" grumbled a frustrated Naruto.

The Chunin was running out of stalling tactics. Maybe taking the ante up a notch was in order. "Why don't you use the storm mode?" he suggested to his friend.

The clone looked apologetic. "Sorry, only the original can do it. I can use any of the other ones though."

"Fine;" decided Shikamaru, opting to take a page from the movies. "Off with their heads."

Naruto grinned evilly and drew is sword. "You're the best boss. [Wind Blade]!"

The clone closest to the short zombie cut off his kunai along with his head in a single swipe. Not quite trusting that this would be enough, he decided to give them more time and punted the head, followed by the body toward the hill. That left them with a three-on-one. The two Naruto had their weapons drawn, infused with wind chakra and ready to strike, while Shikamaru was already drawing a light grenade. The man was definitely going down. The undead Jonin jumped back and made some hand signs… before simply crumpling down.

The rookies didn't even need a split second to realize something was very wrong. But even this instant grasp of the situation wasn't enough to save one of the clones. Suddenly, what could only describe as a translucent version of their opponent _flew_ at the clone in charge of stalling his young partner. The copy tried cutting his foe in half, but the ghost flew through the weapon completely unarmed. The man had no such trouble though, and the next moment, the clone's neck was snapped.

"Wh-?"

"What the hell is this?" cried an exasperated Naruto clone. "Ghost Zombies? How the hell do we fight _Ghost Zombies_? Damn it, that's not fair!"

And if that wasn't enough, the undead Genin had already recovered and joined in the fun. The situation had Shikamaru wanting to pull his hair out. As if fighting a Jonin wasn't hard enough on its own. The kid was annoying and impossible to get rid of at the moment, but the real threat remained the white-haired man.

"Think you can bind a Ghost?" Naruto asked nervously.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's worth a try." He wanted to try something first though. A tagged kunai flew towards the Jonin's body and the 'ghost' playing a dangerous dodging game with a very cautious Naruto, stopped his attacks to intercept it. The Chunin smirked. "Well, isn't that interesting." This little experiment led to many conclusions but two of them drew his attention. One: damaging the body had adverse effects on the ghost. Two: ghost couldn't use projectiles or other jutsu in that form.

Naruto let a small smile as he cut the small blond in half and punted the lower body. "So he has to protect his real body, kinda like Ino. You think he's a Yamanaka?" For sole answer, the spirit regained his body. Well, at least they had something to work with. "Shikamaru! Tag Tactic!"

Shikamaru snorted. The strategy was crude, but it had the advantage of being faster than what he was thinking about. His teammate engaged the now corporal opponent, giving ample time for the Chunin's shadow to form and trail him. Shikamaru waited until Naruto made contact with the Jonin to capture them both through Naruto's shadow. "[Shadow Bind] complete," he announced, bluntly. And before the white-haired man could come up with a strategy he controlled his friend and severed his head, hopefully for the first and last time.

Shikamaru released his shadow just in time to dodge the zombie runt. Naruto used a Body Switch and both quickly did what they had to do. Shikamaru used his newly named Shadow Seal Technique (Previously called Shadow Hand) in order to prevent the Jonin from regenerating, while Naruto once again dispatched the younger target and brought him to Shikamaru for another sealing. That brought them at most a few minutes though.

"Whew! Now back to…" next thing he knew, Shikamaru was standing where the shadow clone was, while Naruto copy was stabbed by the Zombie Jonin and dispelled. "Damn it!" Shikamaru cursed, seeing the Genin starting to rise as well. "Can't you give a guy a break?"

"Sorry, I suppose this makes things quite annoying." The simple fact that the zombie _talked_ had Shikamaru nearly jumping out of his skin. This did not prevent him from rolling under the swipe aimed at his neck, or jumping out of the path of the blond's kick. "We're still bound to do our summoner's will. But that sealing move you used made used regain our sense somewhat."

"And you're not stopping because…?" he asked casually, carefully side stepping a fluid axe kick.

This time the boy answered. "You deaf or something? We have to do what snake-face wants us to do; the only thing we can do freely is talk to you."

So now they were immortal _and_ distracting. Somehow, with his luck that wasn't surprising at all.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

"Come on, this ain't funny!" wailed Naruto.

The blond was clutching his stomach, were he had been punched not a moment ago. That Kabuto was turning out to be quite the strong bastard. The young man was barely phased by Naruto's clones when they were as few as three, no matter the jutsu or weapon used. And that was _including_ Shizune and Tsunade! Well, Tsunade wasn't much help right now, but still…

"What were you expecting Naruto," drawled Kabuto, fixing the glass on his nose, with his middle finger. "I'm the elite. You're nothing but a reject, a failure. No wonder Orochimaru had only eyes for Sasuke." Naruto was growling, but the traitor paid no mind. "You and that stupid Kunoichi Sakura, you only slowed Sasuke down. In fact I'm surprised half of the Konoha trash made it to the finals this year. Shows you how low Konoha has fallen."

Naruto bristled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You're talking smack about Shikamaru?"

"Ah yes, I heard you were now friends with that dropout." He shrugged "I admit he's a bit smarter than the average Genin, but against geniuses like me and Sasuke, well…"

Naruto smirked. "You keep telling yourself that."

Naruto made two clones. The copies quickly drew their short sword and went after Kabuto in a single file. The sinister medic smirked, waiting patiently for the blonde's next pathetically predictable move. Kabuto parried the slash by grabbing the clone's arm, leaking through his hands a deadly poison that would deal with the distraction in seconds, but before the toxin took effect the second Naruto quickly cut through him. The surprise move was so unexpected that Kabuto reacted too late to the slash, and he jumped back, both his arms had a rather deep cut above the elbow, with a matching one on his upper torso.

Naruto had expected to wipe the smirk of the bastard's face, so he looked suitably ticked when his opponent smiled in response, only to for his annoyance to turn into wariness as he noticed how downright vicious said smile looked on the young medic. Naruto decided it would be best for him to wipe Kabuto's expression of that traitorous mug of his. He made another clone to replace the one he sacrificed then pressed his advantage. Shizune had meanwhile recovered enough to offer support, pelting Kabuto with her poisoned needles.

"My, my, I have to admit I'm somewhat impressed." If Naruto hadn't gravely wounded Kabuto, he might have thought he had missed or hit an illusion from the young man's tone; he didn't sound at all like someone disadvantaged, let alone slowly dying. "I suppose this is what I get for playing with my prey." Kabuto leaned back, evading yet another volley of poison. His arms were still following sluggishly after him; a testament to the depth of Naruto's hit. The medic started to gather chakra and soon his chest and arms were coated in a familiar green chakra. Moments later he flexed him newly healed muscles. "Well, ready for round two?"

In less time than it took for Naruto to overcome his surprise Kabuto dispatched the three clones harassing him. Naruto swore; from the memories he had gotten, his opponent had upped the ante significantly. But before he could make more clones and offset the disadvantage, Kabuto appeared before in a burst of speed and punched him right into the solar plexus, before backhanding him around the temple. Naruto barely felt conscious after that last blow, no doubt thanks to that resilience of his. Still, the medic had clocked him good. The only thing the blond Genin could do was look up apprehensively as Kabuto neared him.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I won't kill you; I'm pretty sure my master will find a use for you yet." That said, he kicked him in the stomach – hard. Naruto coughed blood, but still found enough strength to keep an eye on Kabuto. His vindictive glee promised nothing good. "Too bad he's the type to prefer damaged goods."

Shizune had either run out of needles or seemed to had enough of mid-range battle and decided to attack Kabuto head on. Big mistake. Kabuto might have been a medic nin, but he was also a hardened and professional all-around shinobi, and it showed in the way he quickly disarmed and knocked out Tsunade's assistant. With Tsunade out of reach and with no throwing weapons and Naruto unable to move, he had the young woman at his mercy.

"See what trouble you put us through, Lady Tsunade?" he lamented while pulling a kunai. "All these people coming to save you will die because you couldn't obey a simple order." He shook his head in mocked concern. Then his face lit up, radiating malice. "Don't worry, once I kill your assistant, I'll make sure to revive her so you can all be a happy family again."

"Shizune!"

Always one for dramatic flair, Kabuto grabbed the young woman by the hair and put a kunai under her throat. "Say bye, bye now," he said sardonically, but before he could put an end to the kunoichi, his instincts flared and he raised his arm, blocking a blow that would have undoubtedly tore his head off. Instead he flew horizontally and hit the ground once before he could catch himself in mid air and land a good twenty meters away. Kabuto, kept his smile on, though if one knew him well enough – something not even Orochimaru could boast about – they would notice a slip in his expression. He adjusted his glasses once more. "Well, well, look who decided to join us."

For sole answer, Naruto growled.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Shikamaru was starting to think someone out there hated him. "It's two against one," he started summarising out loud. "You can't die whatever vital point I could try to hit, so I can only slow you down. Only one option left; absolutely destroy the body, beyond the insane regeneration. And I don't have the technique do that."

"That's a very good assessment of the current situation; as expected of a Nara," said the man trying to kill him. "Unfortunately I have few ideas about how you can proceed from here."

Shikamaru thought if their conscious selves could offer advice, the older one would be the one to provide it. Obviously the kid was some sort of mini Naruto: high risk, high reward plans – the non-stupid ones anyway – which he couldn't afford in this situation. The only thing that was going for him at the moment was that currently 'mini-Naruto' was totally left behind in terms of speed. Good thing he had started his weight training; coupled with is Mind Flicker, he was able to keep up without even using Body Flickers. He wasn't as fast as the Jonin, but it was enough to play a defensive game – much better than the one against Itachi's clone at any rate., even though judging by the intense concentration on the Jonin's face the man was hindering his own speed.

This wouldn't last long however and he had to think about the next step. He didn't like this; usually he had some sort of buffer, giving him the opportunity to think properly. This situation was similar to the Itachi in more ways than one. He mentally shrugged. He had the facts in mind; he simply needed to come up with a simple solution for now, he would have to deal with the ensuing problems on the fly. He decided to adopt the first plan in his mind he didn't instinctively call stupid or suicidal.

Shikamaru jumped back, throwing kunai to slow down his opponents who now were side-by-side. Seeing how they easily dodged the projectiles, The Chunin made some hand signs and threw more two more kunai, this time running towards the zombies. The Jonin and Genin reluctantly dodged and prepared to assault Shikamaru, but suddenly they stood frozen.

"What?"

Shikamaru smirked. "[Shadow Daggers], success." Shikamaru took some ninja wire, and thanks to a combination of Body Flicker and Mind Flicker he called Soul Flicker Technique, bound the two shinobi in less than five seconds.

"But how?" the white-haired man asked, more surprised than happy about the situation.

The Chunin shrugged as he dropped the last of his explosives: a quite potent fire grenade. "No time to explain, sorry." He was about to get away and to safely detonate the explosives when he saw a flash of white. Reflexes kicked in and he swayed to turn a neck slitting attack into a light chest wound. He jumped back, making another set of hand seals. The ghost turned around and came back at full speed and Shikamaru blocked him with his left forearm, which was currently enveloped in darkness.

The man was only able to stop himself when the kunai, along with his right arm, disappeared into the shadows. "Chakra drain? I must admit that you really surprise me, young Nara. Maybe you'll have what it takes to finally put us to rest."

"It's not really chakra drain," the Nara sighed tiredly. The ghost struggled but was steadily being absorbed "Lucky for me my theory proved to be right; you rely on chakra to become tangible." Seeing he had no time to waste, he changed topic. "I'm going to blow up your bodies to stall for time. You come up with your last farewells to Lady Tsunade in the mean time." The ghost nodded and disappeared.

Shikamaru made a single hand sign and the grenade ignited. The explosion was rather large, but the more important part, and the reason the Chunin had created this explosive in the first place, was the lingering fire. With this, he was sure he had some time to regroup with Naruto and they could at least finish these two.

The Chunin popped a soldier pill. _Man I'm really going to feel it in the morning_. _Now to find… What the __**Hell**__ is going on over there?_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto was currently in the midst of living one of the scariest experiences of his shinobi career. He was out of control, or specifically, someone was controlling _him_. If this had been weeks ago, Naruto wouldn't have minded; he knew the risks of using too much of the Nine Tails chakra or the risk of getting lost in his emotions. The feeling was familiar in that sense. There was one major difference in this case though.

This wasn't the Kyubi's doing.

He knew instantly because there was no orange chakra anywhere near him. Instead, his normal, bluish chakra was pouring in waves and his canines had not grown either. Yet everything else was the same; his natural abilities had increased dramatically, at the cost of his ability to strategize properly. Oh, and this time he could infuse his sword with wind chakra, which this 'out of control Naruto' seemed to prefer to use over his other jutsu, because yes, this Naruto could _also_ use jutsu, as demonstrated by the clones that had been destroyed. Interestingly, these clones were trying to stop _him_ as much as they wanted to stop _Kabuto_.

Wasn't that a comforting thought!

Fortunately, the good news didn't end there. Kabuto was steadily getting used to this new Naruto. Sure he was faster and stronger than before, but he had also become predictable, a big problem against someone as smart as Orochimaru's medic. Kabuto had just ducked under a beheading swipe, and sprung ready to retaliate with his glowing hands. Naruto, both the real one trapped within his mind and the imposter making use of his body, knew they couldn't dodge the blow and braced themselves when the Genin was violently tackled by someone who screamed as he took the brunt of Kabuto's attack.

Fortunately, the tackle had enough force behind it to send both Naruto and his savior a few meters away from their foe. The berserk was getting ready to deal with the new annoyance until he laid eyes on him. It was like a switch had been thrown, allowing Naruto to finally take control of his body and snap at his friend "Shikamaru! What the hell!"

"What the hell yourself, you troublesome idiot!" the Chunin shouted back. "What the hell were you doing?" Shikamaru then kicked the air, which confused Naruto has Shikamaru was lying on the ground, and looked surprised. "Shit, what is this? I tried to punch you, but my foot moved instead!"

"A little trick I borrowed from Lady Tsunade herself," Kabuto answered, stalking near the reunited duo. "Though I must admit, if I had known you would stupidly throw yourself in the way like that, I would have used a more lethal jutsu."

"Charming," Shikamaru deadpanned before turning his gaze away from Naruto. "Damn this thing! Naruto, can you try to not get yourself killed for thirty seconds?"

"Screw you Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru shook his right hand. "Good. The zombies will be coming in a bit. No more games; total annihilation."

Naruto gently turned his friend's head to look at him. Seeing the determination in the Chunin's eyes, he smirked wolfishly. "Gotcha," he said, making some hand seals and drawing a copious amount of chakra in order to activate his Storm Mode.

"As if I'll let you!"

Naruto turned to see Kabuto rushing in his direction, waited for the Jonin to near striking range before unleashing a "[Corkscrew Hurricane Technique]!" and sending the man flying for the third time that night.

"Jeez! At least give me some time to remove the damn weights!" Naruto snapped. He crouched to take off the things while Shikamaru blinked.

"Wait, you too?" he asked.

Naruto instantly understood the implication of the question. "What you too?" he asked back. "Oh well, we'll talk about this later," he mumbled seeing Kabuto was now back for more.

"Nice move you got there," the henchman taunted. "Should I be scared?"

Naruto shrugged, but his smirk remained. "We'll see in a bit, won't we?" The Genin then drew his kodashi.

"Naruto! Incoming!" Shikamaru warned, now up and poised to receive the undead.

Kabuto balked. "How did you adapt to the jutsu so fast?"

Shikamaru stretched a bit, only to show he could; leave it to him, to show off like a lazy bastard. "I didn't, I mentally rewired my nervous system correctly." He dodged the older zombie before jumping back. "If you have any last words, now would be the perfect time."

The man complied immediately. He smiled as he tried to hack Shikamaru in pieces. "Tsunade. I'm happy you're alive. I'm sorry I had to hurt you. Protect Konoha for me." he turned to see Shizune unconscious. "And tell Shizune I'm sorry I couldn't talk to her, but that I'm glad to see how much she has grown." Nawaki cut him off before he could hog all their time. "Sis, I'm pretty sure this is some kind of genjutsu, because Jiraiya looks old." Tsunade twitched and Naruto decided he definitely liked that kid. "It doesn't matter how young you look if you don't smile." As for Tsunade, her mouth was opening and closing without any sounds coming out.

What happened next was very fast, though for outward observers, time seemed to stop. Naruto sent a flurry of wind sickles, sending Kabuto scrambling back. Meanwhile, Shikamaru threw a smoke bomb, followed by two kunai on the floor. As he started the set of hand signs he needed for their combination technique, the two zombies jumped out of the smoke, only to be stopped by some invisible force. The next instant Naruto was by Shikamaru's left side, ready. It was time to show once and for all why it was ill advised to underestimate team Oblivion.

"[Dual Ultimate Technique: Path to Oblivion]!" they shouted in unison, executing a corkscrew blow in perfect synchrony. Only Shikamaru's corkscrew was done with his left hand enveloped in shadows, like a dark reflection of Naruto's original move. What came out of their outstretched fists was a whirlwind similar to Kiba's Tsuga, only bigger and pitch black. It traveled at the speed of a kunai for about a hundred meters, leaving nothing behind in its wake, not even the zombies it had been aimed at.

Yet again a miracle only that whisker wearing blond could do; Sasuke, Kimimaro and even the Sannin themselves paused to see the unbelievable result of the technique. Dan and Nawaki were gone; there wasn't even a scrap their bodies could use to reform. Some were looking in awe, others in dread, and others with pride, spite or hatred, but they were watching, acknowledging the blond idiot and the no-good slacker.

Naruto relished the feeling of all eyes looking at them. This felt better than even the Chunin finals. He knew he and Shikamaru had done something incredible. The fight was far from over, and even with the Storm Mode, he didn't think he'd be able to kick Kabuto's ass. Fortunately, he had his trusted partner at his side. He knew there and then, that with Shikamaru he'd take on the world, if need be. As they had the attention of current elite of Konoha… for the most part, with Shikamaru behind him, hand still wrapped in shadows, like his was in wind, Naruto felt that the words that came in mind were ironic when he used them before; he had been such a naïve Genin. Now though, for the first time he could tell people would pay attention and take heed of his warning. He and Shikamaru were destined for great things after all. Naruto smiled confidently.

"Don't underestimate us."

_**Team Oblivion! Ready to kick ass and take names! But will that be enough for the second round?**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: Happy Holidays folks. If you're wondering if why I took so long, blame it on procrastination, end terms and lots of other little things. On the important things now**

**As you've probably noticed, This fic has now a cover picture. Isn't it awesome!? Many thanks to fellow Badou enthusiast Damatris! Thanks again for the time you took for this.**

**Also, this fic has now, over 250k words, over 800 reviews and over a thousand follows and favs, You guys are awesome! I will always endeavour to keep worthy of your appreciation.**

**I know a there's a lot of mixed feelings for Aya. Well, wait and see she eventually gets better.**

**I hope.**

**R&R**

**Rev: no. no no no. it cant be. no. i need another chapter or or. ill shall form a family band and u wont be invited sshun unless u put out another chapter.  
****SShun: **…wha?  
**Naru: **…is that supposed to be a threat?  
**Shika: ***shrugs*  
**Aya:** …

** R_: But u know what i would not mind a girl following me around all day. they r not troublesome shika. just got a know how to talk with them.  
****Shika: **You keep telling yourself that.

** R_: Naruto ur getting stronger ull make it to hokage sooner or later and try not to cry after hearing this/reading this.  
****Naru: ***wipes eyes* damn it I'm not crying!  
**Aya:** Ah Naru! *hugs Naru*  
**Naru: **…Now I really am crying.

** R_: heres naruto and shika addresses they live together *hands her the address* have fun. ****  
Naru: **Hey, what're you…?  
**Shika: ***elbows Naruto* sh!  
**Aya:** I'll take that, thanks!

** R_: *she runs off. Watches as she goes into Anko Mitarashi house only to run back but then pulled back in by snakes looks at u u guys*  
****Naru & Shika: ***eyes grow wide*  
**SShun: **…

** R_: oh yeah just call me Kona. *waves* and ill start reviewing alll ur new chapter  
****SShun & Naru & Shika: ***blinks*

** R_: *hears aya screams*  
****Aya:** help me!  
**SShun & Naru & Shika: ***blinks*

** R_: nachos anyone? *hol a dish of nachos up*  
****Shika: **You know I think this the beginning of a beautiful long friendship  
**Naru: **Shun, can we kidnap that reviewer?  
**SShun: **no Naruto.  
**Naru: **Aw…

_**/-/**_

**Rev: Well, in canon 'Rochi *did* approach Tsunade, […] That was only a month or so after the Invasion/Exams, this is much later in the timeline, so it would make since that she accepted if ever so reluctantly.****  
SShun: **Glad to see somebody gets it. I'm messing with the timeline yes, but other people are still 'canon' so to speak.  
**Naru: **But are going to be major changes right? *looks hopeful*  
**SShun: **…Yes Naruto, you're going to be a Chunin.  
**Naru: **Yes!  
**Shika: **…

** R_: […]but *damn* Jiraiya is gonna be pissed. And hurt, and so disappointed that I will likely be painful. Tsunade will probably be the 5th I think, if only because against all odds she actually ends up a good one, but it will likely be alot more difficult to get there.  
****SShun: **Well, after this chapter, this is more obvious, but yeah, Jiraiya is upset.  
**Naru: **Well I'd be upset to, you know!  
**Shika: **Even I'd be upset.  
**Aya:** Me too.  
**SShun & Naru & Shika: **…  
**Aya:** …What?

** R_: One last thing, I love Shino as part of Team Oblivion, […]  
****Naru: **Look, it doesn't even have to be Shino, but when's the next member of Team Oblivion coming around?  
**Shika: ***looks at Shun*  
**Aya:** …Oh, oh! Can I be part of the team?  
**Naru & Shika: **No!  
**SShun: **…right. We'll see after the next mission


	44. Upset

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'  
Oh! And Beta readers are awesome! Many thanks to **Zanros!  
**Also, we got an awesome cover pic! Many thanks to **Damatris**!

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**44. The Fifth: Upset**

_**Team Oblivion has the upper hand! But the battle is far from over!**_

Jiraiya was currently having the time of his life.

On one hand, the first part of this little reunion sucked. How could it not when learning that not only Orchimaru was healed, but he was playing with the dead again. Having a member of the Kaguya clan under his thumb did not make things any better. On the other hand, everything since the actual fighting started _rocked_.

The Toad Sage ducked a fireball, jumped over a concerning number of snakes, and twisted around for his hair to crush the oncoming boulder. His clone was then bitten by Orochimaru, while he used a rasengan to dispatch his rival's mud clone. Adrenaline was coursing through his body as moved, careful to evade any and every attack – which was good, as most were lethal – all the while pumping out jutsu after jutsu. He couldn't remember the last time he had to fight so seriously. That was the only drawback of being a master spy; at least the job gave plenty of opportunity for 'research'.

Jiraiya's mad run ended at the scaly edge of his current platform, a giant snake. He had decided he didn't want to fight it and its twin and so he sunk them both with his trusty Swamp of the Underworld Technique. The terrain was a bit more to his advantage now that it was immobile, but Summon Snake scales were made so they were slippery to anyone but their contractors. That just couldn't do, so he used one of his oil techniques to even the odds. The fact that his oil was also highly flammable had absolutely nothing to do with it. Honest.

Still it was fun to see the old Snake bastard trying his shedding technique only to realize the fire and boiling oil combo had already burned through the dead skin. The sight of the slightly charred and angry snake summoner would be the stuff of many good nights. That and now they were even for his bruised legs; those granite bullets he kept shooting were nothing to sneeze at.

"This is inconceivable!" hissed Orochimaru, as he summoned more snakes out of his sleeves. "How can trash like you actually manage to hurt someone like me? You were that fool's worst student!"

Jiraiya chuckled as he went through some hand signs. "I'm different than you Orochimaru, that doesn't mean I'm weaker. You'd think you'd realize this by now. This is one of the reasons the old man chose Minato over you."

He knew this would rile up his old enemy and took advantage of that to level the field of the snakes with a steady stream of fire. Orochimaru retaliated by burrowing into his snake and shooting out behind Jiraiya, ready to skewer him with his trusty Grass Cutter. The old spy had been prepared though and grabbed his foe by the wrist and threw him away with his left arm while dowsing his opponent with oil. Orochimaru, not wanting a repeat of the earlier experience shed himself immediately. Exactly what Jiraiya wanted

The white haired veteran grinned as he bit his thumb. "Hey Orochimaru, how about I teach you how to _really_ use a summon!"

It was at that time that they both felt it. The significant increase and decrease in chakra that usually meant an important shift in battle. Both Sannin looked towards the battle on the other side of the river in time to see the black whirlwind send Tsunade's resurrected loved ones back where they belonged.

"That's impossible!" yelled Orochimaru "That technique is invincible! There is no way to destroy the bodies!"

Jiraiya snorted in amusement. "Leave it to Naruto to make the impossible look like child's play." His summon toad besides him in battle gear Jiraiya let out a copious amount of chakra. "So Orochimaru… ready for round two?"

The traitorous Sannin sneered for sole answer.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Surveying the 'Path to Oblivion' he and Naruto made, Shikamaru smirked with pride. They had never tried a full powered version before. In hindsight, he was pretty glad they did; there was no way they could have covered that kind of destruction around Tanzaku City. And he would be outright lying if he didn't admit wiping that grin clean off that smug bastard's face wasn't the best feeling ever. Compared to that, the actual destruction of the zombies was a bonus.

"Well… that went well," the Chunin summarized.

That little sentence was enough for their Kabuto to recover the power of speech. "That's… that's impossible!" he claimed, still a bit shaken.

Shikamaru yawned. "Well I'm certainly glad those two didn't know about that little detail." To his left, Naruto was chuckling. Quickly surveying his surroundings to get hold of the new situation, Shikamaru frowned; Kabuto was truly a fearsome guy. "Lady Tsunade, I suggest you check on Shizune."

And now the enemy Jonin was smirking again; damn. "You got a good eye, Nara."

Tsunade rushed towards her apprentice as fast as her homophobia allowed. "What have you done to Shizune?" she demanded.

Kabuto apologized with fake airiness. "Sorry, must have slipped my mind."

Naruto still in his Storm mode shrugged. "Doesn't matter; it just means that now it's two-on-one instead."

And with that, the battle started anew. Contrary to when Kabuto was fighting Naruto one-on-one, he found the two Rookies to fight in more conservative manner, making sure to use as few jutsu and as much tools and taijutsu as they could, which was proving to be somewhat effective, as far as the Jonin allowed it at any rate. Shikamaru was no fool; one did not become more than Orochimaru's pawn being a one-trick-pony. The second thing maintaining the duo's focus was the legendary medic currently trying to handle a patient despite her trauma. Using Naruto's rawer repertoire of techniques would end up doing more bad than good.

As for him, Shikamaru readied a Shadow kunai while Naruto was keeping the Jonin at bay with his more powerful version of the Wind Blade. He knew he had only one good shot at this. Take at step back, wait for a moment when he would be dodging and…

"Whoops!" Kabuto dodged fast enough to avoid the projectile altogether. He gave a shrewd look in the Nara's direction. "Wouldn't want those kunai of yours to hit my shadow and immobilize me, right?

Damn, the medic must have kept an eye on his fight with the zombies, and he had moved pretty far too. "Troublesome."

The Jonin looked thoughtful as he artfully evaded both Rookies attacks. "I wonder how you do it, is it a special seal or…?" He blinked. "Oh, the kunai are gone. Tricky things! I'm starting to like you Nara." Shikamaru opened his mouth but abruptly closed it when he saw Kabuto's grin turn sinister again. "It seems Lord Orochimaru's is getting restless."

Looking in the direction of his opponent's gaze, Shikamaru saw Sasuke and the Bone Guy, only there wasn't much of a fight since the Uchiha was clutching his left shoulder.

Naruto swore. "Shit! His seal is acting up! I thought Jiraiya had it under control!"

"From the Uchiha? Probably," Shikamaru reasoned, "But not from the one who made the seal in the first place, I guess." Shikamaru sighed; the longer this night went on, the worse it got. "Troublesome." He turned an apologetic glance to his friend. "Naruto, I'm going!"

"Damn it Shikamaru! Not again, don't leave me with that guy!"

He'd gladly, trade places with Naruto, but unfortunately, he had nothing against Kabuto; the young man had easily seen through his Shadow Daggers, not to mention, he, unlike the two zombies, wouldn't try to hold back anything. Sometime, Shikamaru hated being support. But Naruto had survived once before, he could only hope a second miracle would occur.

_Man, we are __**so**__ over our heads. How troublesome._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Kabuto placidly adjusted his glasses, smirking playfully. "Well Naruto, it seems it's just me and you again." The Genin shivered; this was bad, this was _sooo_ bad. Shizune wasn't even there to provide support anymore. And the damn smug bastard was apparently reading his thoughts because now his smile grew larger. "Oh don't be like that Naruto; this is actually fun for me. I admit you surprised me so far; let's see if you can impress me." With that said, Kabuto started to advance, only to draw back as a considerable amount of wind blades were after him.

Naruto quickly regained his focus. He knew it was only a matter of time before the dark medic got familiarized with the technique, the pattern or both. So he quickly started planning his next move. He knew for that one he couldn't use his clones, as he was constantly producing and using elemental recomposed wind chakra, only thankful this didn't prevent him to use the chakra to move around as well, so that left him with only his wind jutsu and his weapons.

The Genin threw a couple of wind coated kunai at his opponent, who dodged at the last second, if only because he underestimated Naruto elemental affinity. Taking advantage of the distraction, Naruto decide to destabilize Kabuto with a Great Breakthrough technique and improvise from there. Seeing this, Kabuto also started making hand sings of his own. Naruto barely got a glimpse of the tiger seal.

That glance saved his life.

Naruto abruptly cancelled his technique and got the hell out of dodge just in time for the trailing end of his headband to get caught in the path of a huge fireball. The sizzle left in its wake told the power of the jutsu. Naruto rolled and dived out of the way of another well aimed fireball. He jumped to the left and slashed, sending a wind blade. The same fire jutsu nearly took them both out at the same time. Naruto swore loudly.

"You're a damn fire jutsu user!"

"…Among other things," Kabuto admitted easily. He sent more projectiles Naruto's way but seeing Naruto simply dodging them, he shook his head. "No, no, no, Naruto. If you keep dodging like that, I might get bored and…"

Naruto's eyes grew wide when he noticed his current position. Shizune and Tsunade were not that far from his position, and knowing the bastard, the small blond had no time to waste. In two strides he was ready to defend them, but the question remained, how the hell was going to do that? When he got out of this, he'd kick Shikamaru's lazy bastard ass for this. _Shikamaru, I need to learn how to fight against fire users, so let's spar some_, he remembered telling his friend. _No_, is friend replied, _too troublesome_. The simple memory had him wanting to throttle the young Nara.

Naruto mentally slapped himself. _Focus Naruto!_ Before fighting the fire user he had first to find a way to take care of the fire. He didn't have time to counter it with jutsu; he'd have to cancel his Storm Mode to use an element in the first place, not to mention he couldn't do a water jutsu to save is life. Besides, by the time he gathered the chakra to send a fireball of his own – assuming Kabuto's wouldn't trounce his measly non affinitive version – Kabuto will have roasted them all. Maybe with his explosive tags…? Oops, no time to think about it anymore! Naruto saw the tiger seal again and threw a tagged kunai, hoping they were potent enough. The explosion that threw him to the ground told him that fortunately, yes, they were. Only problem was he had a finite supply and a small one at that.

He skidded to a halt right next to the two medic kunoichi.

"Hang in there Shizune!"

Naruto's mood darkened. The young woman was still unconscious. The fact that the so-called legendary medic was still working on her meant whatever Kabuto had hit her with was nasty indeed. Naruto flipped up into a crouch near the medic – the conscious one.

"What's wrong with Shizune?"

"She's poisoned, and the toxin is very fast acting. If I gotten to her just a few seconds later…"

Naruto didn't hear the rest of the sentence – not that he needed too – because this time Kabuto was throwing exploding tags of his own. Naruto sent them back to sender with his Corkscrew Hurricane. But that's exactly what his opponent was waiting for; the next fireball only grew larger ready to tear through Naruto and the kunoichi now behind him. Acting on half-baked logic and instinct, Naruto decided to deflect the oncoming the big ball of death with a Tornado Upper.

It worked. Barely.

The resulting fire whirl was hot enough that Naruto started to catch on fire while not even touching the thing. He looked at his badly signed clothes.

"See what happens when I'm bored, Naruto? Luckily you were able to deflect that."

"Bastard!" Naruto muttered. He poked at the holes in the fabric and groaned; if he survived this, Ino was going to kill him – then take him to another shopping trip.

Naruto shuddered.

Fortunately that gave Naruto a solution to Kabuto's annoying fire affinity besides his tagged kunai: his Tornado Upper. A second go at the jutsu made him realise that Kabuto's fire techniques couldn't go through the tornado, at least when not powered by Naruto's own wind jutsu. The cool part was that since the resulting Fire Whirl lingered, he could use that to power up his own wind jutsu. In other words, the Great Breakthrough Jutsu had become the Great Dragon's Breath, and the Flying Wind Blades were now renamed Flame Cutters. He'd have to thank Kabuto for that.

The second solution resulted from this nifty trick. It was simple but hard; attack Kabuto before he could use a jutsu. Quite impractical since Kabuto was faster than him in every conceivable way, but the first few shots had come as a surprise to the medic and thus served as a good offset.

Kabuto hadn't like that, and it showed when he stopped using his fire jutsu. Naruto thought it was the perfect time to go on offense and stop Kabuto before he decided to come back to those. The idea was good, too bad the bastard henchman moved first.

"I must admit, this little trick of yours was ingenious, but this is getting boring," he drawled and even sighed for emphasis. He took out a kunai and started toying with it. "I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up like this, but you were a dropout. I admit that little display of power earlier sent a tingle down my spine, but if this is the best you can do…"

Naruto sent a wind sickle, but Kabuto leaned sideways as he rushed forward. Naruto barely had the time to block the kick aimed at his temple, but not the punch aimed at his solar plexus. Naruto gagged and dropped his guard, getting a drop kick in return. The blond staggered up, noticing Kabuto had managed to beat him back to where Tsunade was treating her student. He looked up and there Kabuto was, standing arrogantly. The man took a step and Naruto moved between him and the kunoichi. He took a defensive stance, but started coughing blood.

"Naruto!"

"Oops! Sorry about that Naruto. I must have poisoned you with that punch earlier… or was it the kick? Anyway, This is a special edition of my poison, so it's a lot more potent that the one I hit Shizune with." Naruto felt some killing intent behind him. "Don't worry lady Tsunade he's a Jinchuriki, he'll live." The young medic then raised his hand. "Well Naruto, time to go to sleep now."

Kabuto raised his two glowing hands, ready to put Naruto to sleep, not realizing it would kill the blond, but just as the right hand reached his temple, it was grabbed by a very pissed off Sannin. The young man tried to take it back, but all he got for his trouble was a grip so strong it literally crushed his wrist. Kabuto barely flinched; Instead he quickly reacted by trying to disable Tsunade's arm. The Kunoichi let him.

Tsunade smirked. "Here, I got something of yours." She said, driving a dark green liquid seemingly floating inches above her right hand right into Kabuto's stomach. The man staggered back for a moment. He righted himself and smirked before flinching violently. "Of course you'd be immune to your own poison, which is why I tweaked it."

Kabuto's face twisted by rage and pain was the last thing Naruto saw before everything went dark.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto opened his eyes and groaned.

_Ugh, I definitely need a less painful way of being here._

'Here' obviously was his sewer like mindscape. The blond picked himself up and head to meet the Kyubi, which he coincidently needed to talked to. On his way there, he remembered he was in a miniature Konoha and sighed; if he wasn't dying he would definitely be trying to head for Ichiraku's to see if could have ramen in his mindscape. Anyway, he headed for the Tailed Beast, to see him thrash about.

"UZUMAKI!" roared the beast, "What is happening? Why didn't respond?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm dying. And I didn't hear you calling me."

"You…! I called you by your name many times when you were fighting that arrogant…"

The demon fox paused, allowing Naruto to interject. "I supposed this was happening while you took over," he supplied.

"How could I? I'm stuck here, whelp. You and your sealing master made sure of that."

Naruto let it slide for now. He had more pressing matters after all, like getting rid of the poison and staying alive for example. Unfortunately it all relied on the Kyubi now.

"Listen Kyubi, right now we're in a bit of trouble; I'm poisoned." The Kyubi snarled. "Anyway, now would be a great time to help."

"And how exactly can I do that? Even if I gave you back the chakra I took, there wouldn't be enough to heal you, let alone get rid of the poison!"

"Yeah, I know, that's why I want you to teach me how you do it." There was a tense silence. "If you have a better idea I'm willing to listen."

"Listen good brat, there is no way that you can do what I do to heal you, as it requires Yin Yang chakra manipulation. And you can forget about me ever teaching it to you; we don't work the same. Besides we got no time to even attempt it. What you can do however…"

Naruto winced when he heard the explanation. This was going to _hurt._

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Bone Guy was taking his sweet time to subdue Sasuke, probably trying to talk him into joining their side, if he had to guess. That suited Shikamaru just fine. Orochimaru's henchman was still a couple of meters away from the Uchiha when the Nara blew a firebomb in his direction. The concussive force of the explosion gave Shikamaru enough time to close the rest of the distance, and when the smoke from his jutsu cleared, he was right next to his comrade.

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that? I can only save your hide so many times," he complained, rubbing his sore shoulder. Seeing Sasuke was contemplating something nasty at his expense, judging from the glare, the Chunin decided to cut to the chase. "Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru," he confirmed.

He effortlessly dodged the bone bullets coming his way, noting that none of them came close to the Uchiha. Clearly Bone Guy was biased. He had half a mind to complain, but he had more important things to take care of.

"How does it work?" he inquired.

"Seal… left shoulder. Numbing pain," was Sasuke's clipped answer.

"Worth a try," the Chunin mumbled, making the hand signs for his Shadow Seal Jutsu. He didn't get to the chakra gathering part though, because his opponent was clearly not amused. The white-haired young boy lunged with a swipe clearly intending to separate the two. Shikamaru jumped back and glared at him.

"You're in the way, thrash!" Bone Guy stated.

"Of course I am!" he snapped back, "What kind of opponent would I be if I wasn't?"

Shikamaru didn't like the guy, he looked too sure of himself. Man, were all the Bloodline users such arrogant jerks? At least Shino wasn't like that. That being said, Shikamaru found himself wading through what his foe called 'Dance of the Camellia'. Well, the guy was definitely Chunin material at the very least, though his speed was nothing he couldn't handle, especially with his weights off and little bursts of Soul Flicker.

"You're faster than I am," Bone Guy remarked.

"And your bones are annoying," replied Shikamaru. The few kunai he had thrown at the guy had bounced harmlessly on boy's skin. Well, Sasuke had used Fire based Jutsu to get him off him and Naruto last time, but Shikamaru had already gone through a second soldier pill; that firebomb had been pushing it really. He dodged another sword attack and felt pain as another bone cut his shoulder; this was not helping all the cuts and bruises he had from before. He backed away quite perturbed.

"You can attack with your ribs too?!" he yelled in utter disbelief after seeing the offending bones retract into Bone Guy's abdomen.

"My whole body is a weapon. The Kaguya clan was made for combat; the ultimate taijutsu specialist," he stated.

"I hate this. I really, _really_ hate this," muttered the Chunin. Being fast was one thing, but dodging various blows coming for different directions in such a short time span was more suited for a taijutsu specialist, which he wasn't. Oh well, that simply meant he had an added incentive to try his Shadow Seal on Sasuke; there was no way he was going to win against Bone Guy like this. This whole night was on a completely different level of troublesome.

Shikamaru drew chakra in order to form another Shadow Dagger. Hopefully this one had been too busy fighting Sasuke to notice his earlier fights. Thankfully, Bone Guy was a melee fighter to the core, and that meant occasions to aim his dagger at the young boy's shadow were abundant. He only had to pretend aiming at a leg, and the bone user… did not dodge. Shikamaru cursed mentally, but his consternation turned into mild confusion when the weapon made of chakra, sunk into the flesh instead of bouncing harmlessly against the bone, like the previous kunai.

The Shadow Dagger Technique hadn't been tested extensively. He had no guinea pig, and so deduced the technique was like a long distance Shadow Bind. Apparently it was more than that; the way Kaguya's leg suddenly gave away reminded him of his Shadow Seal. Best of both worlds, maybe? He'd think about that later. Right now he had the perfect opportunity to do what he came here for in the first place.

Shikamaru rushed towards Sasuke and made the hand seals, dodging projectiles along the way. He wasn't halfway there that the bone user stood up again, looking displeased. Luckily, the Chunin was faster and good at dodging. "Finally, [Shadow Seal]!" he said triumphantly. From the look on the Uchiha's face, the pain was gone at least. "Can you move your shoulder?" he asked, making a coded sign. Sasuke shook his head. "No? Damn! I really could use your help here."

Sasuke made no movement to acknowledge his complaint, but Shikamaru saw that his crimson eyes were full of determination. He turned to face his opponent and jumped back every now and then, drawing Bone Guy away from Sasuke.

The Kaguya snorted. "To even think you could undo Master Orochimaru's gift makes you even lower than trash," he let out in calm fury. "Do not think you'll be leaving this place alive."

Shikamaru smirked in response. "Trash or not, you're still a taijutsu user." The Chunin timed his Rat Seal with Bone Guy's step in. The Kaguya stopped immediately and tried to move back, but Shikamaru's shadow was faster. The young Nara didn't want any surprise, so even though his power weakened the further he was from his target, he had them separate.

Bone Guy stared unperturbed. "This is merely a waste of time, I'm pretty sure there is nothing…" His voice was swallowed entirely by the telltale sound many likened to a thousand screeching birds. Shikamaru's grin became vicious. "What is this…?" he asked, his calm demeanor perturbed for maybe a half-second.

"_That_ would be Sasuke Uchiha," he replied nonchalantly.

As if on cue, the Uchiha rushed, his hand engulfed in electricity leaving a trail of destruction. Shikamaru wondered how the teen would connect without being skewered though. Still, if anyone could do it besides Naruto, it would be the stuck-up Uchiha.

At the last moment, Sasuke said, "Eat this!" and stopped a full two meters in front of the bone user and thrust his palm full of chakra forward. "[Chidori - Discharge]!

It was like the Chidori hadn't expected Sasuke's halt and continued on its own. The mass of lighting arcs hit its mark right in the chest. The Kaguya was thrown back and hit the ground violently, even bouncing a full meter upwards. Shikamaru joined Sasuke and both looked at their opponent. He was badly burned around his mid section, and was twitching like mad, meaning that unfortunately he was still alive. On the other hand, it didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon.

"Well, that looks painful," Shikamaru commented. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "New jutsu?" The Uchiha snorted in approval, and was about to add something probably boastful, when he started to grab his shoulder again.

"Let's go rejoin Naruto," he suggested with gritted teeth.

Shikamaru nodded.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Naruto knew he was out in the real world because he was burning from the inside. He quickly set to follow his tenant's instructions. First he gathered chakra into his hands. Chucking years of training out the window, Naruto tried molding the chakra haphazardly. Curiously this was much harder than he thought. Most often than not the chakra would fizzle out and Naruto had to start all over again. But eventually he felt it. This time the chakra gathered felt a little hot; its color was just a bit bluer. Encouraged by this Naruto focused on those sensations as much as he could. The result? His chakra was now completely blue, and kind of warm; now for the painful part.

Theoretically, it was possible for everyone to absorb chakra. It was a simple matter of forcing the chakra into the pathways to let chakra flow in reverse. It was also incredibly stupid, because like blood circulation, the reverse flow of chakra could only be harmful. The only way to truly absorb chakra was to either be able to channel the chakra into their proper path ways or convert chakra into something that could go against the flow, or even a combination of those. Needless to say Naruto had none of those, hence when he slammed his palms together, forcing the chakra back where it came from, Naruto felt a sensation similar to when the Nine Tails had taken back its chakra. It hurt even more than the poison did.

When he couldn't take anymore, Naruto sent out a burst of chakra throughout his body. It cooled down. The relief was so much that Naruto wanted to faint right there. However the battle wasn't over yet. The young blond struggled to get up and see Tsunade fighting Kabuto to a standstill. From what he could see, Tsunade still looked somewhat ill, so he guessed the poison acting in Kabuto's body was what equalized the fight.

Naruto took a soldier pill. Feeling his energy a chipper attitude coming back, the blond quickly made the hand signs to enter his Storm Mode once again. He rushed in just as Kabuto dodged a clothesline that would have probably torn his head off.

"Ah, Naruto. I was wondering when you'd join us," he drawled, however he looked everything but happy to see the Jinchuriki.

Naruto jumped into melee range and punched. Kabuto jumped back, but staggered when he felt a hit in the jaw. This gave Tsunade enough time to approach and throw a rising hook into his stomach. The young was lifted two meters up and landed on his feet, but his knees buckled; he couldn't move. Seeing this Naruto grinned and his hands glowed.

"[Gale Storm]!"

Naruto was still a short distance away from Kabuto as he started punching like a madman, but somehow every punch thrown connected. The growing distance between the two shinobi became hazy due to the large quantity of wind moving. Kabuto must have been well over a hundred times by the time Naruto stopped. The young medic was barely standing up; all those hits had turn all his muscles numb, not to mention all the cuts he had.

However, Naruto wasn't done yet. He cancelled his Storm Mode and turned towards the Sannin. "Hey, Tsunade are you watching? I'm about to show you how to really do a Rasengan." Just then the familiar blue chakra ball formed in his right hand. "Take the Rasengan," as he said so, his second hand glowed white, and he poured the chakra into the Rasengan, turning the ball white. Once his new creation stabilized, Naruto put his left on his right wrist and took aim. "Add a basic wind jutsu, some Uzumaki awesomeness and what do you get? [Uzumaki Secret Technique: Spiralling Bullet*]!" he bellowed, blasting the encased Rasengan at blinding speed.

Kabuto looked up to see the ball coming at him at high velocity. The young medic smiled in disbelief before raising his hands to take on the jutsu. After impact, the white orb vanished, and the usual swirling sphere that is the Rasengan did its job of shredding a good chunk out of Kabuto. When the jutsu ended the silver haired shinobi fell face forward, hopefully down for good.

Naruto panted hard. "Damn, that guy is one tough bastard!" he looked at Tsunade "How is Shizune?"

"Not good. But I was able to take out most of the poison, so she's out of immediate danger at least."

Naruto blinked trying to focus. "Oh, well that's…" a coughing fit took him by surprise, and Tsunade gasped when she saw the bond's blood trickling out of his mouth.

"Naruto! You're still poisoned? What about the Kyubi?"

_So she knew_, thought Naruto. Another thing added to his to do list. "I'm sorry, but the Kyubi is unavailable at the moment." He almost laughed when he saw the face she made. "Don't worry, it'll be fine," he wheezed out. "I'm tired though, so about you let me—"

"Naruto Uzumaki! If you do as much as close your eyes for a moment, I'll kill you, and bring you back to life just to make you wish you were!"

That certainly frightened him into awareness. He was about to retort to that when he heard a very annoyed, yet very welcomed "Troublesome".

"Shikamaru!"

The Nara acknowledged his presence by stating, "You look like hell. Status?"

"Shizune's not poisoned anymore; I am. Oh and Kabuto's probably not dead."

"Shit."

The Chunin approved Uchiha's assessment of the situation. "Yeah, Sasuke isn't doing that well either and I'm pretty sure Bone Guy isn't dead. And I'm due to pass out any moment now." Shikamaru and Sasuke collapsed near the blond. "Figures I leave for one moment and you're ready to keel over."

Naruto snorted. "Oh, shut up! I'm not dead, am I?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out now." And the Chunin did just that.

The blond looked at his friend and muttered "lucky bastard."

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

After the latest exchange, Jiraiya and Orochimaru remained at a standstill. A couple of hundred meters in the distance, Gamabunta was facing off against Manda in similar conditions. In fact the battle had escalated to a point neither had even glanced in the direction of their pupils/allies/underlings. This moment was exactly the moment to do so.

What Jiraiya saw was interesting: the Kaguya was lying face up and badly burned, while Kabuto had all the pains in the world trying to get up. On his side, Shizune and Shikamaru were unconscious, Sasuke was currently in pain, and Tsunade was nursing his godson. Of course if _he_ found the situation interesting, Orochimaru's release of killing intent demonstrated he had other words to describe what he saw and 'interesting' wasn't one of them.

"Orochimaru it seems your Jonin, your undead pawns, and your Kaguya are all down for the count," the Toad Sage taunted. He shook his head in mock commiseration. "Good help is so hard to find these days."

His eternal rival sneered. "I may have lost Jiraiya, but you haven't won yet!"

Jiraiya saw the man lunged towards him and readied a Rasengan, but frowned when he felt his opponent reacted a tad slowed than he should. _Shit!_ With no time to lose, the Leaf's master spy used a burst of speed to quickly dispatch his opponent before rushing full speed towards his defenceless comrades. He had jumped thinking of using gravity to hasten his pace, and with that speed and the resulting tunnel vision it was impossible to notice when Orochimaru skewered him from the side.

"Sentimental fool! Why go for small fries when you can go for the gullible target?" Just then, Jiraiya coughed blood, grinned and disappeared in smoke. Meanwhile the real Sannin landed right in front of his charges. Orochimaru landed moments later. "Give it up, Jiraiya. We both know you can't protect all of them from me. Give me Sasuke and _maybe_ I'll let you leave with one of the brats."

Jiraiya was about to make a quite explicit counteroffer when he felt a familiar presence near him.

"Maybe he can't, but _we_ can. Up for a two-on-one Orochimaru?"

"My, my, seems the whole team has reunited; how… nostalgic," drawled the fallen Sannin. A quick glance at Tsunade's form told both men that while she wasn't at hundred percent, the blood on her was rapidly losing its debilitating effect: not good odds for Orochimaru. "Don't think this over! Konoha will burn to the ground, count on it."

The snake-like shinobi burrowed underground. Moments later there was no sign of him or his pawns.

"Not on my life Orochimaru," vowed Tsunade.

Jiraiya was ready to call this a night, However Manda and Gamabunta were still in the middle of their death battle. Seeing this was not going to end anytime soon, he thought of lending a hand.

"Tsunade, I'm going to help Gamabunta, watch the kids."

The kunoichi snorted, but stood her ground. Jiraiya quickly left, but regretted his decision when he noticed that unfortunately the giant snake twins he had sunk earlier were not only alive, but attacking Tsunade. His worry were somewhat alleviated when a quick glance back showed a pissed off medic punch a snake the length of a small street and diameter of a house – and knocking it back. But that wasn't the best part.

Seconds later a huge toad poofed into existence wielding a bo staff. A few seconds more and he could hear a very pissed Tsunade yelling about how "idiot patients should know their place and not spread poison through their bodies by summoning toads!" He had to laugh at that. It seemed he wouldn't be the only one with a short life span thanks his lovable idiot of a godson.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

The next time Naruto woke was to two hopeful cerulean eyes widening has he stared. Once his focus came back he nearly tried sinking into his bed until he realised she wasn't looking like she was about to do anything untoward. Upon a second look he could even see… tears?

"Uh Aya…?"

"You're awake!" The young girl didn't let him finish, and before Naruto could add another word she hugged the life out of him. "Thank goodness… thank goodness," she sobbed, clinging to him like a lifeline And now Naruto felt totally awkward as he was totally suffocating, but then mentioning that fact to the crying girl would appear insensitive. Then again, this was _Aya_ he was thinking about. He coughed to draw her attention, and after a few seconds delay, Aya suddenly gave Naruto another look and bolted. "Lady Tsunade! Naruto's awake!"

_Huh?_

The young blond was wondering who was the person impersonating Aya Fukazawa because they were doing a very poor job. But before he could ponder more on this new mystery, the 'impostor' in question returned with the legendary medic in tow.

The woman gave him am appraising glance. "So, finally awake, huh?"

_Finally_? Naruto cocked his head; things were getting more and more curious. "How long was I out for?"

"A day," Tsunade answered with aplomb, "which is somewhat short considering you were poisoned," Naruto ignored the pointed glare, "not to mention the sound thrashing you got from Kabuto."

Naruto thought he fought pretty well considering it was the first time he used his storm Mode and against a Jonin of all things. Also he and Shikamaru had defeated Ghost Zombies – how awesome was that! Speaking of which… "How are the others?" asked Naruto.

The medic frowned and Naruto naturally mimicked her expression, suddenly a bit nervous. "According to Jiraiya, Sasuke Uchiha is recovering fine," Naruto nodded, a bit upset that the bad stuff happened to his friend again. "Shikamaru used all the chakra he could, and then some. He's very lucky to be alive. That being said, he won't be waking up for at least another day."

Naruto sat up, with the intension of hurrying to wherever Shikamaru was and make sure the Nara was OK, but he was stopped by a stab of pain coming from his side, while also suffering from a little lightheartedness. He was starting to miss the Kyubi's super healing and chakra reserves. For once he'd have to, you know, _stay put in bed_. You couldn't ask a worse thing out of him. Well, maybe something like forsake ramen…

His thoughts were interrupted by a very upset ginger. He gave her a wary look. "Can I help you?"

She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. Seeing she couldn't come up with the right words, the young girl sighed in frustration and shouted, "You big … _idiot_!" before simply storming off.

Naruto blinked, before turning to Tsunade. "What's her problem?" She shrugged. The blond sighed. His backlog of things to investigate was getting way out of hand. Maybe now that he had somewhat completed their mission he could start fixing that. First thing he had to do was turn off Kyubi's 'TV' for a while, then… "Do you know where Jiraiya is?"

Tsunade gave him a look. "What for?"

He scratched his head. "Training," he let out innocently.

It still earned him a swat. "You brat! Do you want to die? Because I can do that myself, and I assure you I'll make painful."

Naruto looked hurt. "You wouldn't do in your charmingly cute nephew, would you?"

"You… know?" Whispered Tsunade uncertainly. "And damn it brat, stop looking at me like that." She then turned away, lest she acted upon her maternal instinct and hug the kid to death.

Naruto seeing his blue eyes and innocent face were powerful assets, decided to milk them for all their worth. "I promise I won't do anything stupid. Besides, if this works I'll heal faster, you know! Please?" he added, making sure to hold the last syllable for emphasis.

The medic tried to not look at her nephew, she really did, but in the en she couldn't resist and that was her undoing. "Fine! But if I see you straining _anything_ while you aren't healed I'm putting you into a medical induced coma until you're out of puberty, got it?"

"Sure thing, aunty!"

Tsunade huffed. "Don't call me that, brat."

"Then don't call me brat, _aunty_."

The medic ignored his reply and left. A half hour of boredom later, Jiraiya appeared at the door.

"So brat, what can the awesome me do for you?"

Naruto smirked. "What do you know about Yin Yang chakra?"

_**The Battle is over, but it's already time to get stronger – the path of the shinobi never ends.**_

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: Hey, What's up? The Epic Battle is finally over. The arc isn't over yet though; one little side quest and we're done. But we'll probably have a glimpse of what's happening in the Hidden Village next chapter. **

**I'm a bit late on my Jutsupedia… I'll try to update it as soon as possible.**

**Two reminders; please don't forget to review, and for those who forget, the full R&R can be found in the review section of the previous chapter. See you around!**

***Spiraling Bullet and also be called **_**Rasendan**_**. Thought you'd like to know.**

**Snip**

**Rev: besides Edo Tensai NOT working like that, it was nice, I guess you could get away with it that Kabuto made Improvments on it in Canon and at the time it was shaky considering Orchimarus health.  
****SShun: **Well if you re-read the chapter, I kind of gave myself an out, with the way the whole fight went. That way was Canon as well. I'll PM you if you need a hint.

** R_: I like whats been up with SHikamru and they get the issue with Weights! that ya got to be able to take them off otherwise they will get you killed!  
****Shika: **Well, I don't like it!  
**Naru: **Stupid way to get killed if you ask me!  
**SShun: **You'd be surprised how many people died for stupid reasons, guys.

** R_: I like that Jiryia and Orchimaru are in positions to actually FIGHT Unlike Tsunade, who didddnt keep herself up to fighting S rank Battles  
****SShun: **Again, sorry that their fight aren't so detailed, but on the other hand, I've never really seen Orochimaru use anything more than his sword and his snakes, so…

** R_: something Id like to clear up, Kabuto is FAR better than Kimimaru although Kimimaru is a tough sucker right now also wasent Kabuto paying attention to the healing sessions with Kinimaru that he could actually probably figure it out in time?****  
SShun: **True, but no matter how good Kabuto is, Tsunade is a master healer, a prodigy in the domain, plus, she's a Senju.  
**Naru: **Also, Kabuto kicked my ass in this fight, and I barely won, though that was because Tsunade poisoned him before hand. Satisfied?

** R_: I always loved the fight with kabuto because despite what fans or Naruto think all his previous opponents (save Orchimaru) were ALL in his league[…]****  
Shika: **Well, in this fic he's the third, so the effect is somewhat diluted.  
**SShun: **The second one was off-screen though, so you might have forgotten.

** R_: But seriously! I like where you're taking Sasuke he'll be able to find stuff out in a situation where he can THINK about what he wants to do.****  
Naru: **I guess. Now I hope is head isn't as screwed as will all think it is.  
**SShun: **Well, considering how the author describes the Uchiha…  
**Shika: **Yeah… that's messed up.

_**/-/**_

**Rev: I like the way you set this whole thing up. Tsunade should have been rusty. ****  
SShun: **It's all about balance. I guess I'll see how Tsunade turns out when this chapter is over.  
**Naru: **Though I admit, I couldn't have done this without her and Shizune.

** R_: Not only that but you actually acknowledged Kabutos strength. ****  
Shika: **I suppose it was tricky, striking a balance between Kabuto's real strength and Naruto's growth.  
**SShun: **You're telling me.  
**Naru: **Well, He almost killed me many times and Tsunade saved my ass in the end so I think he was alright.

** R_: The names of the techniques were pretty cool too. ****  
Naru: ***snorts* except for Shadow Daggers.  
**Shika: **Oi! The name fit the description, Okay!

** R_: For some reason the line "I tried to punch you but my foot moved." made me laugh.****  
Shika: ***snorts*  
**Naru: **Oh, come on Shikamaru, it was funny!  
**Aya:** And I missed it too!  
**Shika: **Thank Goodness for small favors.

** R_: One more thing so that last move basically obliterated everything in its path? So what does the area they used to practice that jutsu look like?****  
SShun: **The answer can be found in chapter 42.

_**/-/**_


	45. Stem City

**Shadow and Wind: New legends**

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'  
Oh! And many thanks to **Zanros **for Beta-reading and **Damatris'** awesome cover pic!

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

**45. The Fifth: Stem City**

**_Tsunade is saved and Orochimaru has lost! Time to go home, right?_**

The first thing Shikamaru laid eyes upon was two pair of deep blue eyes starring hopefully at him. His thoughts went along the lines of, _Screw this! I'm not in the mood for __**those two**__ at the __**same time**_. So he quickly closed his eyes and used an old secret passed down through the Nara household for as long as the clan existed: the ability to instantly fall asleep. As he lost consciousness, he heard someone shout, "Hey, what the hell?" in a very loud voice – probably Naruto.

The second time Shikamaru woke up, Naruto was working on some sort of contraption. From what he gathered this invention's sole purpose was to get him wet while the prankster would be out of the room. That troublesome thing was almost done too.

"You really don't want to finish that," he flatly warned.

The blond perked up, his hands still full of the wires he was using for some sort of mechanism. Naruto beamed. "Right, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Like I'm ready to go home," he answered. "Fetch my backpack, bring it to me and bring back Lady Tsunade," he paused and then added, "_In that order_."

Naruto mocked saluted. "Sure thing, Boss." He said before making a shadow clone. The clone left complaining about how both members of Team Oblivion were slave drivers. Shikamaru and Naruto exchanged a look. There was a raised eyebrow followed by a shrug and the young Nara decided to file this incident as another example of Naruto's quirkiness.

Shikamaru prodded various parts of his body. Content with the fact that all his wounds were healed and he had only to deal with his chakra exhaustion, he gave Naruto a second look; the blond looked fine. Meanwhile the clone quickly brought the requested item and left to find Tsunade. The Chunin took a glass of water, took something like a tea bag from his pack and used his elemental affinity to slowly boil the water. He drank his infusion with a grimace and waited for the medic.

Naruto noticed Shikamaru already looked better, and left to pack himself, but not before throwing the water balloon he had prepared for his little contraption first. When the Nara was able to put a coherent thought together his partner was already gone, replaced by one Lady Tsunade, quirking an eyebrow in his direction.

"Troublesome," he muttered. He'd deal with Naruto later… then thought about it. Did it mean he had started a prank war with Naruto of all people? Not the best decision of his career, then again, he still hadn't paid him for Hinata and Ayame, did he? Anyway, back to the medic. "Before you ask, yes, Naruto is responsible for me being wet, but that's not the reason I asked you here."

Lady Tsunade blinked. "So…? What do you want, Nara?"

"We'll be leaving the hospital tomorrow, just wanted to let you know."

Tsunade tried to open her mouth but thought better. She used her mystical palm jutsu to diagnostic her patient, looked at the glass near his bed, and frowned. "May I get a look at your backpack?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "When you asked my father for his secret medicinal research, what was his answer?"

The medic had expected the answer, yet she still pouted. "Cheeky brats – no respect for their elders," she grumbled, muttering about the stupidity of secret medicine as she left the room..

Shikamaru shrugged. She was just jealous.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

The next day Team Oblivion and the rest of the shinobi were heading back to Konoha. Naruto had no idea what waited in store for them. Would Jiraiya tell the elders of about the Ghost Zombie? Apparently it was the reason his aunt had begrudgingly helped Orochimaru. What about Akatsuki? They had come after him a second time. Not to mention he had to deal with the Kyubi, the seemingly second entity that had possessed him in his fight against Kabuto, Yang chakra manipulation, Tsunade herself… so many things on his list, he was a in a hurry to be back…

And that of course was why their voyage back home was so painfully slow.

"I thought you guys wanted a Hokage for yesterday," inquired Tsunade for him, "why are we _walking_?"

Naruto spotted how Shikamaru huffed and mumbled, "I _told_ you she'd be a troublesome girl," to no one in particular while everyone else was looking at the reason of their slow progress. As for Aya, she was looking nonchalant, but it didn't take an expert to detect increasing nervousness coming from her. He really didn't get that girl, but the obvious thing was she couldn't follow them back to Konoha. He gave a pleading look to Shikamaru; if there was any a time for him to use his brilliant mind, now would definitely be it.

The Chunin rolled his eyes and approached Jiraiya. "If you don't mind, I'd like to make a detour."

The Sannin gave him a curious look. "We're kind of in a schedule, twerp, and you've been against this little trip from the get go," which was probably why the man was at least intrigued. "Is it anywhere close?"

His friend shrugged. "Not too far: Stem City."

Naruto almost missed the split second twinkle in his mentor's eye. Aya's ashen face was in contrast so obvious it had Shizune hovering over her. Well if that was part of Shikamaru's plan, the blond had to admit the Nara worked damn fast.

Seeing the girl who kept embarrassing them so vulnerable, he couldn't help from taking a shot at her. "You know the place?" he asked, feigning curiosity.

"I've heard of it," she croaked.

Shikamaru ignored her discomfort. "Anyway, I have an errand to do there, and it'd be troublesome if I had to go back here again so…"

To Tsunade surprise, Jiraiya consented quite easily. "Sure, why not?" His smile turned lecherous. "I remember there is couple of nice looking outdoor baths there."

Naruto, who pretty much knew his godfather's personality – which eerily mirrored his own, save the blatant pervert thing – and had an inkling of what his aunt was like quickly figured something was wrong. Jiraiya was brass, but he was also good a goading people. This wasn't goading, if Naruto didn't any better…!

The blond subtly sent a coded hand sign to Shikamaru. The Chunin looked surprised but one look at Tsunade and the boy slowly backtracked towards Naruto, subtly taking Sasuke with him.

Meanwhile, the legendary medic was looking disgusted by such blatant perverseness. "Pervert! Can you not indulge in your stupid antics this time?"

The man smirked. "Well, depends… are you proposing compensation?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Shikamaru gave Naruto a startled looked. "Is he trying to get killed? Lady Tsunade's going to tear his head off."

It was very serious Naruto who answered, "She can try," this startled the other teens and even Shizune.

As for the woman herself, she was livid. For a moment, her shaking fist was the only thing that moved, and then suddenly she snapped. She cocked back her fist with the full intent of validating Shikamaru's premonition. "Why you…!"

There was a sickening _crunch_ and Tsunade hit the ground so hard there was a small crater from where she bounced. Her body flipped in midair before she landed flat on her back.

"C-cross-counter," stammered Shikamaru. Naruto thought he was guessing because he sure as hell hadn't seen anything but blurs; even Sasuke looked bemused and he had his Sharingan on.

Naruto heard a "Lady Tsunade!" and moved fast enough to stop Shizune. Shikamaru used his shadow to make sure the young woman wouldn't hurt him in her struggle. A little farther ahead, the medic was wiping the blood of her nose, still a bit dazed.

"What the hell is wr—"

She was once again cut off, and this time Naruto clearly saw how Jiraiya tried to punt his old teammate, who this time saw it coming and blocked. The Toad Sage cracked his knuckles "Ok… I think that was enough to get everything out of my system," he said as he shook his hands. Seeing Tsunade staggering to get up, he snorted. "Oh please! That wasn't nearly enough to do any kind of permanent damage to someone like you."

He was right, because a moment later the bloodied kunoichi had created a deep crater where Jiraiya once was. The impact was so great the earth cracked all the way to the observers. For once Naruto didn't mind the ginger hiding behind him. She had a reason to be scared to a degree that even Shizune was rethinking her options. As for Naruto he finally realised what Jiraiya was up to.

Tsunade threw her old teammate a murderous look. "Any reason I shouldn't pound you into the ground, Jiraiya?"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same damn thing." He retorted, letting his foul mood show at last. "How about you, Princess? Any reason I shouldn't put down someone in cahoots with the man who killed the previous Hokage?"

Ouch. Even Sasuke winced at that one.

"Don't give me that crap!" she yelled, throwing a punch he easily parried. "You saw everything, he had Nawaki and Dan, what was I supposed to do?"

"Because I found you bound and gagged in a kinky position maybe?" he threw a kunai at close range that she dodged by crouching. "Because getting wasted in a bar was clearly the best solution to your predicament." He accused, sarcasm dripping like poison from Orochimaru's snakes.

The kunai throw had been a set up for the kick he now aimed at Tsunade's head. Instead of trying to dodge, she took the hit thanks to a headbutt, before grabbing his leg and throwing him into the ground. "He would have tortured them!"

Jiraiya use a Rasengan to cushion the impact, and flipped back at respectable distance. "They were already dead!"

"It's so easy for you to say that," spat the medic bitterly. "It's not like you had any people you liked or cared for you, you don't know what it's like to lose part of your soul, that empty—"

That little tirade ended when Jiraiya, punched Tsunade in the face for the second time today as she tried one of famous axe kicks. Whether because of the strength of the blow or because of the killer intent now suffocating everyone, the medic stayed down. If anything, the man's aura was growing, regardless of the fact that Aya was now unconscious.

"Tsunade Senju. Don't you dare!" he sneered. "I grew up an orphan of the First Shinobi War. No parents, no sibling, nothing. I grew up a loser and everyone looked down on me, even you." The kunoichi said nothing; there was nothing he said that was news to her. "So everyone who looked at me – even if it was just a glimpse – was special. Even though he always liked Orochimaru and you more," and the young blond could see how much resentment Jiraiya still held for that, "the old man was like the father I never knew. Minato, Kushina… do you have any idea what it was for me when they decided to call their son Naruto?" Naruto blinked, he had got to hear the story behind that someday. "Or when they asked me to be the child's godfather? You think I didn't love them? Care for them?" Tsunade flinched, which only fueled Jiraiya's ire. "What about all the other teams under my wing? The partners I had to see die in front of me? The spies that I trained and turned rogue and had to execute myself! Do you know what it's like to end someone you cared for with your own hands, Tsunade?"

"Mourning the lost is fine; losing people is tough. But we're damn shinobi, we learned to sacrifice our grief and sorrow so that other people didn't share the same fate. You think many people died because the council didn't listen to you? Tell me Tsunade, how many do you think died simply because _you weren't there?_

To her credit, the Slug Sage took the rant as stoically as one could, considering it had completely rattled her. But she wasn't ready to throw the towel yet. "Fat good that did for you! Where are all those precious people now?"

Naruto surprised everyone when he cut whatever Jiraiya wanted to say. "I'm right here, you know."

Jiraiya blinked. That was more that he could ever ask from the blond and Naruto knew it. "Naruto…"

But the blond wasn't finished yet. "And in case you haven't figured it out yet, he has you." Tsunade eyes widened. "Or I should say, he should've had you; you were his teammate. It's obvious he cares for you, or you'd be dead right now, you know. And you had me too; your grandmother was an Uzumaki, right? And what about Shizune, isn't she precious to you?"

Tsunade stammered, while looking erratically from her assistant that always stood for her, to her teammate that she'd saved and been saved by countless times, to her distant nephew she had never learned to know, despite his burden. "I… I…"

"Let me ask you a question, Tsunade Senju… _why are you coming back with us?" _She stared at Jiraiya's serious expression in defiance, yet couldn't muster an answer to that question. The man's frown intensified. "I suggest you think very carefully about your answer." He then looked at the teens. "We're going to Stem City."

The boys picked up the civilian and followed their leader, leaving Tsunade and her assistant to recollect their thoughts. Not wanting to linger around more than they should, they decided they would travel at a faster pace, and so Sasuke would take care of the burden since she had no intention of jumping him once she woke up. Sasuke opposed, but he was outvoted three to one.

Naruto had mixed feelings about the whole ordeal. He hadn't particularly liked his estranged relative the first time he had laid eyes on her, but she had grown on him. He gave her props for tricking someone like Orochimaru even under duress. Then there was the fact that she apparently didn't give a damn about him, and that kinda stung. He also couldn't consider her Hokage material; how could a Hokage be afraid of _blood_?

For all her shortcomings though, Naruto still didn't like the way they had left her – from a purely practical manner, mind you. "That was my Yang Element teacher back there, you know." Naruto remarked as they traveled.

During his conscious stay in the hospital, Jiraiya had started explaining the underlying concept of Yin Yang chakra manipulation – ironically that was different than Yin Yang Energies of the body and mind needed to mold chakra. Naruto had surmised from what he understood that he should focus his efforts on learning about Yang chakra manipulation, something that relied on the physical energy needed to form chakra. A good thing, since Uzumaki were full of Physical energy and stamina, according to his godfather. One of the more popular and known uses of Yang chakra manipulation was healing – just what the blond Genin was looking for. So might as well learn from the best. Unfortunately, he'd probably want to rethink his plan.

His godfather sighed, looking tired and older than usual. "I know, brat. I'm sorry about that. She'll be fine," he assured him, "I know the Princess; she's made of tough stuff. That reminds me…" he looked at the Uchiha, "I need a new name for you, since obviously there can't be two princesses. How about… Ducky?"

The only answer he got was a fireball aimed his way.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

By the end of the current day, they had already reached their destination. Aya looked like she would have preferred arriving later – or never. Stem City looked somewhat plain, but that was a good thing in the Chunin's book, it meant less chances for sidequests.

"Well, here we are," he announced, hands finding their way into his pocket.

Aya nervously looked around. "Shika, what business do you have here?"

"Really, you should be well aware of that, _Ms. Fukazawa_," he drawled.

The girl paled considerably: the game was up. "…No."

But before she could turn to run, Naruto had already delivered a chop to the back of her neck. He gently picked the girl before she could fall on the ground. Jiraiya looked thoughtful.

"So, she really _is_ Shigeru Fukazawa's daughter, eh?" he mused. "She doesn't act like her father does."

Naruto looked from Sannin to Chunin. Next to him Sasuke was frowning. "You known the girl?" the blond asked.

"No. But I know her parents: the man's a bit of a stuck up, but is wife has a very nice shape. If Aya's their daughter you're looking at a very hot babe in the making."

The Chunin ignored the comment and directed them through the city. After asking for some general directions, the group made their way to the Fukazawa mansion – sans Jiraiya, who apparently had better things to do. The place was huge, thought it didn't really surprise the pineapple haired Chunin; The Fukazawa had held their empire over the health industry for over a century.

Shikamaru hadn't quite believed the girl they had met near that village was the same as the one he had seen on the wanted poster back at the Hokage's Tower. One would think someone from such a rich family would be more… refined? Delicate? Polite? _Sane_? He really should have known better. It was her offhand use of spying equipment that confirmed it though – those things weren't cheap or easy to find. The good part about this was they had a legitimate way of getting rid of her. In fact they'd even get paid for it; how awesome was that?

While Sasuke went to fetch Mr. Fukazawa, Shikamaru took out a bottle from his backpack. Naruto instantly recognised it, having used it once before.

"Smelling salts?"

The Chunin shrugged. "Wouldn't want to look like we manhandled her." which they hadn't… besides knocking her out a couple of times – for her own sake, of course.

"Ugh, were…?"

Luckily, it seemed they woke up the girl soon enough that she would look like she was treated cordially if not well. "Look alive, Aya. You're home," he told her.

"Uh? You bought us a house? Shika, you shouldn't have!" Apparently she wasn't conscious enough to realise her situation. And still as annoying as ever, this would make the next moments particularly sweet.

"Aya…?"

The three of them looked up to find Aya's father filled with both worry and relief – the opposite of what could be read on the red head's face. In fact, she was looking at them, with what looked like… betrayal? Surely she had to be kidding.

"…Dad."

Her father turned to the teens. "Thank you, _thank you_. I've been looking everywhere for her, you have no idea…" he stopped as he noticed Sasuke's forehead protector.

"Don't worry," replied Naruto, seemingly unconcerned by the change. "We know how… resourceful she can be. But sir, if you don't mind, Ms. Fukazawa said she knew someone who used to be shinobi; I was hoping we could talk to that person…?

"Yeah, we do have one of your lot here." No one could mistake that tone for anything but spite. The man snapped his fingers and a burly bodyguard threw a sack at their feet. "Here's your money, now leave!"

Shikamaru blinked, and then moved forward to pick the money under the surprised stares of his teammates. "That was cold. I'll make sure my father knows how well the Fukazawa treat their business partners. But thanks anyway."

The man opened his mouth but closed it abruptly. "You're…?"

"Shikamaru Nara, at your service." Hearing one of the most well known names in his business seemed to quickly smash the man's disdain. As for his daughter, she pointed an accusing finger at him, but no sound came from her opened mouth. The next moment, she was slapping her forehead; yeah, not working out his identity and motives _was_ pretty stupid of her. And she had learned his name for at least a week or so.

Fortunately, one of the Fukazawa's retrieved the ability to speak and it was the older one. "…Right," he said, his tone once again changing to be much more civil. "My employee will be waiting for you outside."

Shikamaru bowed. "Pleasure to do business with you."

The Fukazawa and their entourage promptly left after that – though Shikamaru noted Aya was the last one to leave, and still had that betrayed expression. About five minutes later the former shinobi arrived and they told them what they pretty much suspected; he was a former Leaf shinobi working in the Intel branch, but retired not too long ago. He eventually found a job in security in with the Fukazawa. Aya was interested in the shinobi life style and so he showed her a few tricks… that she used on him so she could leave with some of his equipment.

"Hey," suddenly asked Naruto, "you know what has Aya so upset coming back here? If I didn't know better I'd say that's the face I'd have if someone had to drag me back to Konoha right after… well, _that_, you know?" he gave Shikamaru a telling glance.

The man shook his head sadly. "I can't tell you everything, but it would be nice if you guys could stick around."

That sounded like trouble, so Shikamaru thanked the man and the boys left. They spotted Jiraiya right after leaving the street. The teens looked at each other, finally figuring the reason for Jiraiya's actions.

"You flirted with his wife."

"Who? Me?" the old pervert looked too innocent.

Naruto's made his famous shrewd expression. "He caught you in bed with her."

"Whoa, whoa," he said, raising his hands defensively. "It never went that far!" Naruto's eyes narrowed. Jiraiya added, "In my defense, she told me she was single."

Naruto threw his hands up in frustration. "I can't take you anywhere!" he ranted before storming off.

Shikamaru did his best not to laugh at the Sannin's contrite expression.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

Naruto was somewhat happy. The main mission was over, and he feared that they would have simply gone home without the traditional sidequest. It was practically a staple now: long mission, dangerous fights, plus a sidequest to spice things up. It happened on their first mission with the village and the thieves; it happened again with the armored shinobi. Now it was whatever was eating Aya Fukazawa, the obnoxious stalker. Plus, chances were, if they got rid of whatever was troubling Aya, she'd actually stay put, and they'd never see her again. Fortunately he was able to barely convince Shikamaru of his brilliant plan. Even better, Sasuke didn't look interested by their little outing, probably because of Aya's indifference.

They waited until evening and did a bit of recon around the Fukazawas' home. Once they identified Aya's room, Naruto mused the direct approach would work. Aya was at least friendly with them, so at worse she'd tell them to leave. That was this state of mind that made the small shriek and the frying pan that hit his face such a surprise.

"Damn, that hurt, you know?" Naruto rubbed his aching forehead, while looking at Aya, who was clutching her heart. The girl was in her sleeping wear and quite surprised by their appearance. "And where the hell did you get that frying pan?"

"It's you guys!" she whispered, before smacking her head into her pillow repeatedly. Naruto gave his partner a strange looked. Shikamaru shrugged and muttered "Troublesome."

"My persona, it's ruined," they heard her complain. "They came to ravish me and I attacked them; the mood is all ruined – and a threesome too! Oh, well, now I'll just have to give them a bit of 'help'," she reasoned, some drool already starting to drip.

Naruto paled and took a step back. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Meanwhile Shikamaru twitched. "Could you please refrain from planning further sexual harassment _while we're still here_?" he asked in a clipped tone.

The girl's head shot up and she gave them a second look. "Ah. So you didn't come to ravish me in my bed?" Shikamaru's twitch intensified. "Are we eloping?" she asked with a cute frown, "Because that would be so stupid, I mean, why would you bring me back just to elope?" this time Naruto himself slapped his forehead.

"Look," he snapped, cutting off whatever fantasy she would propose next, "you don't want to be here and it's not because of your father, so we thought, maybe, we could help, you know?"

Aya went silent for while. The boys could clearly spot her distress. Naruto wondered what kind of misfortune could affect her so. Eventually she nodded. The humble way she did so surprised them. Aya smiled uncertainly and thanked them timidly; further destroying the image of Aya Fukazawa they had built so far. He shook his head; the girl's sudden character change meant nothing; this was about the sidequest after all.

Aya got off her bed and went to change while Naruto and Shikamaru waited outside of the property. They waited for about an hour for her, and when she did rejoin them she was furious, again throwing them for a loop. The two shinobi had no clue what had happened for that mood change until she started ranting.

"Stupid virgin prudes that can't take a peek at my sexy naked body, how are we ever going to fall for me if don't see the goods? No matter," She started mumbling "I can work with that, I'll think of something. This only makes the victory sweater."

Ignoring her dangerous train of thought, Naruto and Shikamaru observed their surroundings as they escorted Aya through the city. The way she was treated was excessive to say the least. Naruto in particular was shocked. He didn't think people could treat someone who wasn't the Hokage like that. Then again, Shikamaru had spoken of the Shogun… Naruto shuddered.

Shikamaru voiced his thoughts perfectly. "Well, I always knew the Fukazawa had business sense and influence… but this is ridiculous!"

Aya snorted in agreement. "Isn't it? And that's nothing! You won't believe all the kissing up I have to deal with when my dad's with me."

Naruto could see where this was going, but that wasn't really the kind of problem they could fix though. "Is that why you ran away?" he asked, a bit disappointed, "because you didn't have any real friends?"

She shook her head ruefully. "No, I had those; they're all gone."

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a grim look. They were now alone in a park. Aya sat by one of the swings. Naruto opted for the top of the structure leaving his feet dangling childishly while Shikamaru preferred lying down on the grass not too far away. Coincidently, there were some clouds in the sky.

"First one was simply stupid enough to brag about it," she recalled. "He got in so much trouble for it his family decided to skip town. Then there was Karen, she was actually a mole for a rival of Dad's. I nearly died because of her." She shivered, before taking a deep breath. "The last one was Matsuda.

"Matsuda… he was great. He stuck by me because I was beautiful, not because of money and power. He wasn't afraid to walk with me, even though he sometimes got beat up by jealous fans. He was the perfect guy; I was even starting to fall for him."

She paused. Naruto closed his eyes, he felt bad for digging up such a bad memory. Shikamaru was relentless, however. "What happened?" he asked.

"Ishida Yamaguchi. He's the son of one of my dad's partners. He... likes me." She chuckled bitterly. "Worse is my dad sees this as a good way to cement his partnership with the Yamaguchi. And since then he's been a total stalker. Presents by the dozen, poems chocolate, whatever… and threats to whomever gets close to me. Matsuda…"

"…Was a hindrance," completed Shikamaru.

"Ishida told me he hired people to make sure nobody bothered me. What they did…" The tears were flowing now. "They never harmed Matsuda, but everything else… His home, his family, his dreams, everything! And then Matsuda he…" The young shinobi exchanged another expressive glance. "It was too much, the city, and Dad did nothing, I couldn't… I miss him so much."

Naruto got down from the swing pole and tried to give Aya a comforting shoulder squeeze. The ginger launched herself at Naruto, clearly preferring a hug instead. The blond wasn't in position to refuse that concession and so awkwardly patted the sobbing girl. He sought Shikamaru, who nodded subtly.

"Well, you heard the lady;" he let out loud, "anything else to add, Yamaguchi?" Naruto felt the poor girl flinch in his arms.

There was a small clap, and three men stepped under the dim light of the stars and the flickering night lamps. Two tall and well built Ronin looking thugs flanking a young man in a style savvy dark grey business suit. Ishida Yamaguchi looked as impeccable as his wardrobe – quite handsome too. Naruto already had the urge to beat the snootiness out of him. The blond Genin calmly disentangled himself from Aya, so he could step in front of her. Shikamaru joined a moment later.

Ishida stepped forward with no regard for his safety; clearly he was underestimating them. "And what do we have here, dear Aya? Indulging more of the riff-raff clinging to you? I would have thought you learned already how… whimsical they tend to get."

Naruto cracked a wry grin. "Actually, we're her new bodyguards." The Genin barely flinched under Shikamaru's withering glare.

The young man looked a bit surprised. "What, you two brats, bodyguards? Mr. Fukazawa clearly has no concern for his daughter; such a shame."

Next to Naruto, Shikamaru yawned. "Well, you obviously have nothing to say to Ms. Fukazawa, so we'll be on our way."

This was clearly a dismissal; one the Yamaguchi heir did not appreciate. He snapped his fingers and his escort advanced threateningly, drawing their katana. Naruto and his friend moved cautiously to meet them, and were relieved to notice how easily they could evade their slow attacks. They reminded him of Gato's henchmen; it seemed grunts were the same everywhere.

Naruto showed how out of his element the young arrogant bastard was by being as flashy as possible. He drew his kodachi and cut his opponent's weapon in half, before knocking away with a front kick. Shikamaru simply bound the man with his Shadow Needle Jutsu. With that done the teens turned to Ishida, curious about his next move.

Meanwhile Aya seemed to have shaken out of her stupor and caught Naruto by the arm, "Come on. Let's get out of here." She then spared a look full of hatred to Ishida. "I suggest you do the same Yamaguchi"

Aya's 'fiancé' shrugged. "I must admit I'm quite distressed; you're still so cold to me. Oh well, nothing that can't be fixed in due time." Naruto flinched. The young man's gaze looked eerily like Hiashi's famous 'You-dare-waste-my-time-look'. "You might not want to get too attached to your guards, Aya, I assure you they'll be leaving quite soon." He then took his leave.

Naruto's tense face lasted until the young man was gone and out of earshot. He then turned a comically big head towards his 'protégé'. "Damn it Aya, stop groping me!"

The girl blushed. "Ah, sorry, my hand slipped, it's the stress, really. But you've got quite a firm ass."

That was more than enough for one night, however Aya didn't think so seeing no matter what he Naruto tried he couldn't get the young Fukazawa to let go. Her hold on his arm was steadfast, not even a Body Switch Jutsu got rid of her. "Come on, Aya," he finally snapped, "this isn't funny." This only made the girl giggle. Oh, this wasn't good.

"Shikamaru, help me get this—" the words died in his throat when he realized his friend had already left.

"Oh, how nice of him to leave us alone for some _intimate_ time," she whispered in his ear.

Naruto did not cry out this time, however he did start panicking. He was that close to knocking the girl out again, but lucky for him, there was a passerby who recognised Aya. He eventually persuaded Jiraiya's spiritual daughter to head home and escorted her there – from a distance. All the while there was one thought fermenting in his mind. Once he got back, he was going to _kill_ Shikamaru.

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

"So basically that's the current situation," finished the Chunin. Sasuke was looking at him questioningly, Jiraiya was stifling his laughter and next to him Naruto snorted, unrepentant; the reason for such mixed reactions? Probably the shiner, or maybe the bruises… the busted lip didn't help.

"And you're _sure_ you didn't get caught?" Sasuke asked. He looked doubtful.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered, "Troublesome" under his breath. "I'm positive. The reason I look like that is because, _someone_ has no sense of priorities."

"You freaking _ran away_!" the perpetrator accused.

True. But it's not like he was going to say that out loud. "I didn't; I just thought it would be a good idea to follow Yamaguchi. You're the one who wanted to comfort her; you're the one who called us 'her bodyguards'." And if this wasn't fate's retribution for that transgression, he was a ramen-eating, idiot blond. "As far as I'm concerned you walked right into that one."

"How was I supposed to know she'd try to take advantage of me after that sap story? I thought it was true!" he retorted.

Shikamaru scratched his chin. "Yeah, well I'm pretty sure what she said was all true." He could almost see the question marks around his friend so he supplied, "She's simply a better shinobi than we thought."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"She may not be trained in the art, but she has the mentality down: she's using _everything_ she can to reach her goal, even her emotions and her past."

Naruto pondered that for a moment a came up with the most suitable response. "Thank goodness she's not a real shinobi!"

Shikamaru could do nothing but agree. But they had more pressing matters to discuss. "…Back to the report. Do you still think this sidequest is such a good idea?"

If his little excursion taught him anything, it was that the Yamaguchi had more than thugs, ronin and yakuza under their command. When he had trailed the young heir, he was able to infiltrate his home. The security was above average, but considering he had gone unnoticed in a shinobi compound, he wasn't worried. The interesting part was the conversation he overheard from the Yamaguchi father and son.

"I don't see where the problem is," argued Naruto.

He didn't…? Shikamaru took a deep breath. "Need I remind you that the people he hired are in the Bingo Book, A-Rank?"

The blond shrugged. "Whatever. None of them are fire jutsu users, anyway."

Sometimes he couldn't believe how reckless Naruto Uzumaki could be. Then he remembered it was the same guy that had challenged an S-Rank shinobi all these months ago – and actually survived. The worst part was he could feel Sasuke siding with Naruto. What did he expect with the two of them in the same room? He wouldn't be surprised if this turned into a contest between the two.

Jiraiya was silent. Probably weighting how dangerous this new adventu re would be overall with this new information taken into account. "When you were talking about taking a mission on the side Naruto, I was thinking more about taking down thugs and rookie ronin," he pondered out loud.

"Come on," he whined, "We beat Orochimaru's crew, didn't we? And they were all kinds of crazy strong, you know? They even had Ghost Zombies!"

"Was that before or after Kabuto nearly killed you – _twice_? Did you forget the part where we had a special Jonin and a Sannin fighting by your side?" Shikamaru retorted.

The bickering went on for a while until Jiraiya raised a hand to silence them. Shikamaru and his friend stopped, but were glaring at each other. Sasuke looked from one to the other with an unreadable expression. Finally, the Sannin deliberated and gave his consent. Shikamaru nodded approvingly until he realized that Jiraiya was actually siding with Naruto.

His head turn nearly caused him a whiplash. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I said 'go ahead'," the man reiterated. "I heard a bit about the shinobi you'll be facing, and though they're considered an A-Rank threat, that's the three of them _together_. I'd say their battle ability is mid to high Chunin."

Well they weren't all the Jonin he had expected them all to be that was a start. But still… "You're basically telling us our opponents are stronger than us, and that you think this is a good idea anyway."

"Yep."

Shikamaru was more and more perplexed. "So risking our lives for absolutely no reason is a _good_ idea?"

"Don't be stupid, Twerp," snapped Jiraiya, "We all know you'll have to face off much worse in the future, and unlike this case, you won't know when or how, or even who'll be coming." Oh, so he was seeing things from _that_ angle. The Chunin had to admit he had seen Itachi too many times not to be wary about his next encounter with the dangerous man or his comrades.

Seeing he got the picture, Jiraiya went on. "To tell you the truth this is a test. I was planning to take Naruto on a trip to protect him from Akatsuki."

Shikamaru frowned. "How long?"

"Years – four at most."

Shikamaru ignored Naruto's vehement protests and thought this through. That seemed like a reasonable idea if one wanted to truly protect Naruto, but again, like when he had gone to see Jiraiya about Akatsuki, it left a bad taste in his mouth. This was illogical and he knew it. Then again, the idea of quitting the shinobi life had he not been paired with Choji had also lacked reasoning. Was he really that close to Naruto? He didn't know where to put the blonde really. Were they best friends? Not like Choji though, something similar, yet different at the same time. He was straying from the matter at hand though.

"...Right. And what happens if we succeed?"

"Then I can put a recommendation for these two to become Chunin." The eyes of both Genin shone at the prospect. "Though in Ducky's case, he did leave the village without consent so I have no idea how much weight my word will have."

...Ah. He could see the potential benefits of Naruto being a Chunin – namely the ability to pick safe missions for him without penalizing his teammates. Of course, on the down side, the chances he'd have more missions with said blond increased as well. That wouldn't such a bad thing, if Naruto hadn't the power to turn every mission into a more dangerous mess. In the end it was at least better than the alternative – he just needed to figure out how.

Besides, it was already out of his hands – by the look of things Naruto was ready to do this on his own and with his hands tied behind his back if he had to for the sole purpose of staying in Konoha.

"Fine," he uttered at last. It would go without saying that he would be in charge of the whole thing. With any luck he'd be able to take care of it before the hired help got here to begin with. What he wouldn't give for some decent backup though.

And backup arrived. It was just a shame that backup's mentor was also there.

"Jiraiya."

"Tsunade."

_Trouble,_ the Chunin thought, greeting his own old friend.

**_Tsunade's Back, and the sidequest is go!_**

**_/-/ /-/ /-/_**

**Zanros: Can I just say… it's really satisfying to see Jiraiya beat Tsunade? I always thought him the stronger of the two and it was warranted. She cries about her loved ones dying while Jiraiya kept a better lid on his own losses. So it makes perfect sense that Jiraiya would be a little more pissed at her attitude.**

**A/N: Well, I agree with my Beta, but I'd like to add that the thing between the two Sannin isn't resolved yet, so at least wait till next chapter before throwing stones at me.**

**Anyway… whoa, two months since my last update! Sorry about the late update, from the mid to end terms, life's been incredibly busy. Anyways, I'm hoping the sidequest ends next chapter. Care to guess who the opponents will be? After that the arc is pretty much over, I think. **

**About Tsunade, Things will get better for her from now on… character-wise at least – her trials aren't quite over yet.**

**Lastly, about my writing, frankly I'm at lost. I really thought things were getting better. I even got a Beta – and believe me there is a ****_huge_**** difference. At this point I think all that I can ask is for you guys to kindly point out the errors so I can correct them.**

**As always, thanks for your encouraging words, and more reviews are always welcome.**

**_Snip_**

**Rev: This was amazing! Even if it's TAKING YOU FOREVER! Please update before the end of the year at least.  
****SShun: **Done! See you next year guys!  
**Naru & Shika & Aya:** *surrounds Shun and give him the death glare.*  
**SShun: **…*laughs nervously* come on guys, t'was a joke, really.  
**Naru & Shika & Aya:** …

**_/-/_**

**Rev: Note to self, don't make medics mad.****  
Naru: **…Damn straight! *shudders* Tsunade's /scary/.  
**Shika: **And troublesome, don't forget troublesome.  
**SShun: **And your future boss! Isn't that going to be fun!  
**Naru & Shika: ***groans*

**_/-/_**

**Rev: alright, alright, you finally got a good number of awesome points Naruto  
****Naru: **…Alright! I knew it! My Rasendan is just so awesome!

** R_: *pouts, before grinning evilly* just means that you are beating out Sasuke and his Chidori-Discharge victory by one point, and still a few hundred behind Shikamaru.****  
Naru: **What! but Sasuke awesome points were in the negatives… damn you, Damn You!  
**SShun & Shika: ***hides laughter*

** R_: And Aya, I do know how to read lips. Since you take being heckled in stride, ignoring you really is the only way to annoy you.****  
Aya:** *pouts*  
**SShun: **Really, I thought you would have figured it by now, what her weakness is. She /is/ a female version of Jiraiya after all.

** R_: *grins malevolently* and trust me, you're going to love this bit of Nara-outwitting Shun.  
****Shika: ***sweats*Now, now, let's not be hasty here, I thought annoying Naruto was your stuff  
**Naru: **Dude! Don't use me as a shield!

** R_: *clears throat* Alright so Naruto's ante for the earplugs is pranking Itachi ****Uchiha  
Naru: **That's… *pales dramatically* that's suicide. And I'm not even sure I'll even see Itachi again!  
**Shika: ***Winces*  
**Aya:** *Does a sexy victory dance*

** R_: and my price for Shikamaru to get a pair of the earplugs is one date with...Sakura Haruno!****  
Shika: **Ugh!  
**Naru: ***growls*  
**Shika: **Damn it Naruto! Not now!

** R_: *grins sadistically* and […] he'll triple it, that means he will have to go on THREE dates with Sakura...unless of course he wants to be a deal welcher.  
****Shika: **But… you can't do that! Tell me he can't do that, Shun!  
**SShun: **…You're right he can't. We all know it was a hyperbole…  
**Shika: **Whew.  
**SShun: **–which is why I'll offer you compensation.  
**Shika: **…huh?  
**SShun: **You now get to pick two different dates with for Shikamaru!  
**Shika: **_WHAT_?!.  
**SShun: **Of course, I'll add Sakura's date as a bonus.  
**Shika: **But that's no different than what the reviewer proposed in the first place!  
**SShun: **Of course it is! It'd be impossible to actually write plausible reasons for THREE dates with Sakura in the story.  
**Shika: **because they'll be part in the fic as well!? *faints*  
**Naru: ***laughs* oh man! *Stops and pales dramatically* You mean I have to prank Itachi for real!?  
**Aya:** Hum, Mr. reviewer I know we've gone off to a bad start, but I'd really be grateful if you could pick me for one of the dates. We could work something out, yes?  
**SShun: **...


End file.
